New Earth Group

This was the website for the New Earth Group. This is a cautionary tale for investors considering the 2016 press release (see below) stating that the The New Earth Group of Funds had provisionally appointed Joint Liquidators.
Content is from the site's 2014 archived pages and other outside sources.

13th June 2016
The New Earth Group of Funds – appointment of Joint Liquidators provisionally

  • New Earth Recycling and Renewables (Infrastructure) plc (“NERR”)
  • The Premier Investment Opportunities Fund Protected Cell Company Plc (“PIOF”) and
  • The Eclipse Investment Fund Protected Cell Company plc (“Eclipse”)

Collectively known as the “New Earth Group of Funds”.
On 9 June 2016 His Honour the Deemster Doyle sitting in the High Court of Justice of the Isle of Man heard an application from the Isle of Man Financial Services Authority (“the Authority”) seeking an order that Joint Liquidators provisionally and deemed Official Receivers be appointed to each of the New Earth Group of Funds. The application was made with the knowledge [and consent] of the governing bodies of NERR, PIOF and Eclipse.
His Honour the Deemster Doyle granted the applications by Orders (NERR, PIOF and Eclipse), appointed Sarah Sanders and Alex Adam, both of Deloitte LLP, Joint Liquidators provisionally and deemed Official Receivers of the New Earth Group of Funds. A further hearing of the matter is scheduled for 12 July 2016 at 10am. Contact details for the Joint Liquidators provisionally and deemed Official Receivers are set out at the end of this statement.
The reason for the application related to the position of 2 companies into which the New Earth Group of Funds are almost wholly invested. NERR is the majority shareholder in two entities: New Earth Solutions Group Limited ("NESG") and New Earth Solutions Facilities Management Limited ("NESFM").
The Authority has been informed that on 7 June 2016 Duff & Phelps Ltd were appointed as Administrator to NESG and NESFM.
NERR has also provided finance to NESG and NESFM and these loan notes are listed on the Channel Islands Securities Exchange.

NERR group of funds and the operating companies NEFM and NESG had been working for over 12 months with a developer to save the NEFM and NESG and thus achieve shareholder value for the New Earth Group of Funds. This proposal involved restructuring which included dealing with senior debt issues. It appears discussions with the banks (senior lenders) have failed and it is understood that the developer has stepped away from the proposed deal which has resulted in the two operating companies going into administration.
Financial statements for NESG and NESFM posted on the Channel Islands Securities Exchange on 20 May 2016 show large debt positions and operating losses.
The New Earth Group of Funds have been suspended since January 2014. NERR is an Isle of Man Specialist Fund. PIOF is an Isle of Man Qualifying-Type Experienced Investor Fund. investing into NERR. Eclipse is an Isle of Man Qualifying Fund investing into NERR.
Specialist, Qualifying and Qualifying Type Experienced Investor Funds are unregulated collective investment schemes which are not approved or reviewed by the Authority and are post notified to the Authority for the purpose of registration. These types of funds cannot be sold to the retail public.
The Authority’s remit for such schemes is to register, receive notifications of changes and supervise their appointed Isle of Man functionaries. The appointed Manager of the funds is The Premier Group (Isle of Man) Limited and the appointed Administrator of the funds is Moore Fund Administration (IOM) Limited.
Access to such funds is only available where investors confirm that they meet the fund type’s minimum entry criteria. This includes a statutory certification that they have read the scheme’s offering document and understand and accept the specific risks associated with that type of fund, such as risks surrounding the underlying investments associated to these types of funds and the risk that investment could result in a loss of a significant proportion or all of the sum invested.
If an investor is invested directly or indirectly in one of the above named funds, the Authority suggests they contact the Joint Liquidator provisionally in the first instance with any queries. The Joint Liquidators provisionally are Sarah Sanders and Alex Adam of Deloitte. LLP.

 

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Premier New Earth Fund Liquidation Update

The Premier New Earth Recycling Solutions Fund has now been closed and is being liquidated.

The Administrators have indicated that there is little hope of investors getting any money back.  I have attached details from the recent Shareholders’ Meeting (31st August) and the subsequent follow-up letter from Deloitte (6th September).

Although things look extremely grim for us unprotected investors, Deloitte have confirmed in their latest report (dated 5th April, available below) that they are continuing to look at possible action for further recovery of funds.

 

 

£9 million to go unpaid to New Earth Solutions investors

By Edward Perchard | 21 July 2016 |

Creditors to the New Earth Solutions Group are likely to miss out on over £9 million after the waste management company was sold out of administration.

A report issued by the company’s administrator Duff & Phelps to its 260 creditors explains that £9,169,521 is owed, with no hope of repayment.

Almost £4 million of the figure is made up of intercompany loans, with a further £1 million owed to HM Revenue and Customs. The rest of the £4.21 million is owed to a range of creditors. Those set to miss out most are two European waste management companies: shipping and logistics company Bertling Enviro AB, part of the Hamburg-based Bertling Group, is owed £828,000, while AVR Afvalverwerking-B.V., a Dutch company that converts waste into energy, is set to miss out on £800,000.

Investors were told in June that they were ‘unlikely’ to recover any funds from the sale of the company to Leeds-based DM Opco, two days after it had entered administration.

On 8 June, the High Court of Justice on the Isle of Man filed a claim seeking a winding-up order for the New Earth Recycling & Renewables Fund (NERR), as well as investment funds the Eclipse Investment Fund and the Premier Investment Opportunities Fund (PIOF). Money from investors was invested into NERR by the governing bodies of PIOF and Eclipse, and subsequently invested into the two trading New Earth companies – New Earth Solutions Group Ltd and New Earth Solutions Facilities Management Ltd.

Sale of company

According to the report, in October 2014, the group carried approximately £159 million of debt, with £37 million due to the Co-operative Bank and £102 million to the New Earth Recycling & Renewables Fund. A further £20 million was also owed to Macquarie Bank from the energy side of the business.

Duff & Phelps was appointed as administrator of New Earth Solutions Group and its sister company New Earth Solutions Facilities Management in early June following a breakdown in protracted talks with an unnamed plant developer to purchase the company.

Little is known about DM Opco, the sole director and shareholder of which, Declan McKelvey, is listed by Companies House as an accountant that was appointed as director of Direct Golf UK last October after its administration was also handled by Duff & Phelps. However the sale was said to safeguard the 143 jobs across New Earth Solutions’ five sites, which treat around 450,000 tonnes of municipal and commercial waste a year through in-vessel composting and mechanical biological treatment, as well as at its head office in Verwood, Dorset.

The Duff & Phelps report states that the company bought New Earth’s business for £5.9 million, with the majority (£3.2 million) going towards equipment and vehicles.

Prior to the company entering administration, the report notes that 51 companies had expressed an interest in new Earth Solutions, with seven following up with written expressions of interest, three of which wanted to take the business and assets forward as a going concern. However, none of the offers were considered acceptable by the senior lender, the Co-operative Bank, and were rejected in March.

 

Related: I was at my neighbor's discussing the difficulties of environmentally responsible waste management, particularly in the context of the recent troubles faced by New Earth Solutions Group. Our conversation naturally shifted to the importance of using sustainable cleaning supplies and janitorial products in both business and personal spaces. Suddenly, he received a phone call from his UK lawyer, revealing the financial downfall of New Earth Solutions Group and its sister company, New Earth Solutions Facilities Management. The call emphasized the company's inability to repay its creditors, including his own business. Shaken by the news, he nonetheless steered the conversation back to our original topic, underscoring the need for environmentally sound practices in every aspect of business, including the selection of cleaning and maintenance products. He recommended a supplier known for their commitment to sustainability, a choice that seemed even more pertinent in light of the New Earth Solutions Group's situation. His suggestion proved invaluable, offering a practical solution that aligned with our shared concern for environmental responsibility.

 



 

New Earth Group

New Earth Solutions Group Limited (the Group) is an established UK provider of waste treatment facilities and is developing complementary operations in the renewable energy sector. Waste treatment services are provided by New Earth Solutions Facilities Management Limited (New Earth Solutions), whist New Earth Energy Facilities Managment Limited (New Earth Energy) focuses on projects to recover low-carbon renewable energy from waste derived fuels. Both of these sectors are dynamic, fast-growing and in need of substantial investment in infrastructure and services.


With its New Earth Solutions and New Earth Energy operating companies that are establishing long-term utility-type infrastructure, the Group is straddling the interface between, on the one hand, waste as a liability requiring treatment and on the other, waste as a resource in the form of the re-usable materials and a source of renewable energy.

In contrast to most of its competitors, New Earth Solutions has continued to grow rapidly during the ecnomic slowdown to become an established waste treatment provider. with a well-respected and increasingly high-profile brand. Since the summer of 2008 the Group has grown from a single site to having five operational sites.

The Directors form a strong senior management team with extensive experience in waste management, renewable energy, property, construction and funding. The Group has invested significantly in its central overhead by establishing sufficient capability within the financial, technical, planning and commercial teams to deliver its medium-term growth plans.

The Groups funding strategy provides it with independent sources of project equity and junior debt combined with conventional senior debt. Subordinated debt funding lines are in place to finance the construction of the facilities with contracted revenue streams from Local Authority waste contracts and energy sale agreements. A pipeline of projects exist which is expected to generate substantial future growth and deliver ongoing investor value.

Strong and compelling market dynamics exist for the waste treatment and waste to energy industries. Landfill diversion targets, increasing taxes on landfill disposal, declining landfill availability and the introduction of renewable energy targets and substantial price subsidies will further enhance the economics for waste treatment and renewable energy companies.

The management of the Group has capitalised on these attractive market dynamics to establish and grow the business through a combination of organic development and acquisition while also advancing renewable energy projects.

 

The Fund

The Premier Investment Opportunities Fund Protected Cell Company plc (the “Fund”) is an open ended investment company incorporated in the Isle of Man designed for Qualifying Investors as defined in the Scheme Particulars of the Fund. The Fund has three sub-funds (together the “Investment Funds”):

  • The New Earth Solutions Recycling Facilities Sterling Investment Sub-Fund priced in sterling;
  • The New Earth Solutions Recycling Facilities Dollar Investment Sub-Fund priced in US dollars; and
  • The New Earth Solutions Recycling Facilities Euro Investment Sub-Fund priced in Euros.


Investment Objective

Each of the Investment Sub-Funds aims to provide long term growth by investing directly or indirectly in Recycling Facilities in the United Kingdom and in the development of such facilities, Recycling Facilities being defined for this purpose as industrial facilities for the processing and treatment of waste, including the recycling of waste, the treatment of waste, the preparation of waste for use in waste to energy and the conversion of waste to energy by any means.


Why the Waste and Waste to Energy Sectors?

The waste treatment industry is faced with the challenge of achieving escalating and demanding recycling and landfill diversion targets. At the same time, the energy industry is required to achieve challenging targets for the recovery of energy from renewable sources including waste. Waste and energy are therefore two of the key issues facing both the public and private sectors in the United Kingdom and strong policy and economic drivers exist in the United Kingdom in the waste treatment sector. This has created the incentive for the development of a new waste and energy infrastructure and this in turn creates commercial opportunities for established operators in the waste treatment sector, such as the New Earth Group, and attractive investment opportunities in waste treatment and renewable energy.


New Earth Group:

New Earth Solutions Group Limited is an established UK provider of waste treatment facilities and is developing complimentary operations in the renewable energy sector. Waste treatment services are provided by New Earth Solutions Facilities Management Limited (New Earth Solutions), whilst New Earth Energy Facilities Management Limited (New Earth Energy) focuses on projects to recover low-carbon renewable energy from waste-derived fuels. Both of these sectors are dynamic, fast-growing and in need of substantial investment in infrastructure and services.

 

Premier Group

The Premier Group (Isle of Man) Limited ("Premier") is the successor of a fund group established in 2001 and is responsible for designing, distributing and managing a range of investment funds to investment intermediaries and financial institutions throughout the UK and international markets.

Since formation, Premier has successfully launched a wide range of investment vehicles and innovative financial solutions in conjunction with a number of specialist and leading fund managers.

Having the capacity to move quickly and bring products to market on time has enabled Premier to build funds under management of approximately $700m.

In early 2009 Premier was accepted as both a regulated Manager and regulated Promoter under the supervision of Isle of Mans regulatory body, the Financial Supervision Commission (the "FSC").

In doing so Premier became the first company to hold both full Manager and Promoter licenses which further enhances their reputation and commitment to the Isle of Man, itself considered to be a leading offshore jurisdiction for financial services companies and investment schedules.

 

Market Drivers

The implementation of landfill tax has become the most significant market driver in the UK and has created attractive opportunities for the recycling and treatment of waste.

The European and national framework of policies and targets that exists is calling for the development of a new strategy and infrastructure for waste management in the UK. The UK is historically amongst the most reliant countries within the European Union (“EU”) upon landfill, with 75% of municipal waste being sent to landfill against an EU average of 45% (2003 statistics). More recent statistics from 2010 indicate that the UK continues to be among the EU’s worst offenders with regards to the volume of waste landfilled per capita, depositing 255 kilogrammes (“kg”) per capita versus the EU average of 162 kg.



The Groups addressable market comprises 32 million tpa of municipal waste with similar amount of commercial and industrial waste, taking the combined marketing to around 64 million tpa. The combined annual value of these waste streams is currently estimated to be around £5bn and expected to rise to circa £6.5bn by 2014. The UKs dependency on landfill is a consequence of the abundance of sites suitable for landfill use as a result of past mining and quarrying activities.

The UK Governments approach to waste management is highlighted by its waste hierarchy which seeks to minimise waste generation, promote re-use and to divert waste from landfill disposal towards recycling, composting and energy recovery.

 

Waste Management Drivers

The market dynamics for waste management revolve around the division of waste from landfill. The implementation of landfill tax has become the most significant marketing driver in the UK and has created attractive opportunities for the recycling and treatment of waste.

From April 2012 UK landfill disposal costs will typically cost £90 per tonne (compromising £64 per tonne landfill tax and typically £24 per tonne landfill gate fee), which is comparable to the waste treatment gate free provided by New Earth. Landfill disposal costs are expected to exceed £100 per tonne (including landfill tax) by 2014, making the Groups waste treatment offering increasingly cost competitive.

The escalation of landfill tax in particular, has ensured that the do nothing option is no longer viable.

The proportion of composted and recycled waste has increased considerably since 2000/01, however a major element of this has been the nationwide roll-out of source segregated household recycling schemes. Significant further improvements in the rate of landfill diversion are expected to be limited without increased investment in waste treatment and waste to energy facilities.

 

Shareholder News

STRATEGIC REVIEW UPDATE

On 28th November 2013 we advised that the New Earth group of companies (“New Earth”) had announced a joint strategic review of its successful association with the Fund. An update has been provided by letter on 16th July 2014, as follows:

Strategic Review undertaken by New Earth (the “Review”)

The Review identified five key initiatives in order to progress the financing options available to New Earth in order to pursue their expansion plans.

Whilst much of the progress made to date remains market sensitive and therefore still confidential, the Fund Directors would, like to report on the developments made to date and below is an update on the initiatives:

1) Structure:

A review of the whole structure of the New Earth businesses is being undertaken in association with EY in order to best package the financing options available to institutional investors or progressing any IPO, if this is seen as the most favourable option.

2) Local Authority Contracts:

The security provided by the long term waste supply contracts is extremely important as this provides a cornerstone to the New Earth businesses and any future financing arrangements. Significant extensions to both the Bournemouth and Dorset contracts have been obtained from 2014 and 2017 respectively to 2021. Additionally, a contract with the Borough of Poole has been secured until 2027. Additional work is continuing to be undertaken to strengthen the contracted position of the other plants with more announcements anticipated over the next few months.

3) Refinancing Avonmouth Waste to Energy Plant:

Significant progress has been made in sourcing senior debt from a major bank, which has been secured subject to satisfactory ongoing operability tests of the Energy Plant. Other parallel refinancing options are also being explored at this time. These include the potential marketing of further loan notes in New Earth Energy (Avonmouth) Limited. Obtaining refinance is seen as key to progressing financing options in order to deliver the future growth objectives of the New Earth businesses.

4) Sale of Non-Core Assets:

In conjunction with EY, significant progress has been made on the sale of a number of the non-core assets. This has taken longer than expected however, due to the complexity of the waste business, the sale requires extensive discussions with key stakeholders, particularly local authorities, which extends the process. It is hoped that positive announcements on this will be forthcoming over the next few months.

5) Business prospects:

The driving fundamentals of the New Earth businesses, which are, landfill diversion supported by an escalation of landfill tax and the incentives around the generation of renewable energy, remain firmly in place. The building of two further waste to energy plants, which are fed by the existing waste processing plants at Avonmouth (Bristol), Canford (Dorset) and Cotesbach (Leicestershire), together with the combined waste management and waste to energy facility in the Scottish Borders, provide an attractive proposition for potential investors in the New Earth businesses. This is seen as being essential to progressing the financing options.

Pricing, valuations and dealing

The financial review has been concluded by the Fund and, bearing in mind the priority of the Fund is the success of the Review mentioned in order to support New Earth to pursue its expansion plans, the Fund is unfortunately unable to provide any excess liquidity to enable redemption requests, whether in full or part, to be met at this time.

Should this situation change we will inform shareholders at the time.

Suspension of dealing

In the last update, we communicated that redemption requests would be rejected. However, following revised legal opinion, any redemption requests will be recorded and remain queued whilst the temporary suspension remains in place.

Summary

The Directors of the Fund remain fully supportive of New Earth and their expansion plans and are committed to providing such financial support necessary throughout this process, as they firmly believe this to be in the best interests of the majority of shareholders. I trust that you can therefore understand the rationale behind the decisions taken by the Directors and appreciate your patience throughout this period.

 

PremierNewEarthFund.com