In 2018 Wirral entrepreneur Gary McDermott sold the drainage services company he founded in 2003 – now he has bought it back for £3m. Tony McDonough reports

Entrepreneur Gary McDermott has raised £3m to buy back the firm he sold to a US-based business in 2018.

Gary founded what was then called Clean Line UK, a drainage services company, in 2003. It started with just two trucks, one van and seven employees. Over the years he built it up and in 2018 it employed more than 120 people.

That same year he sold the company to US based operator NRC. By then it was called NRC Waste Water Solutions (NRC WWS) and Gary remained with the business as managing director.

NRC provides industrial drainage services to blue chip clients across sectors including civil engineering, local authority, government agencies and construction.

In 2022 he was offered the opportunity to buy the firm back. He has now completed the deal with the help of working capital provider, Bibby Financial Services (BFS). It has provided a £3m asset-based lending package comprising asset finance and invoice finance.

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To facilitate the transaction, Gary was introduced to BFS’s corporate team by Benjamin Day at Cowgills. This is a North West-based accountancy and deal advisory firm with a longstanding relationship with NRC WWS.

Gary said: “Buying back the business I founded two decades ago was an offer I couldn’t turn down. I’m so proud of our team here at NRC WWS, and could not be more excited to continue expanding our services, sectors and workforce to serve our growing client base.

“The funding package provided by BFS was critical to make this happen. They went above and beyond to match my requirements. I’ve no doubt they will continue to support our growth ambitions in the years to come.”

BFS’s deal-team was led by Alex Macdonald and Ellen McEvoy with the support of Rebekah Middleton in Bibby Leasing. Alex added: “NRC WWS represents the heart of what we do here at BFS.

“It is a proud independent business that has grown impressively through years of nurture and hard work. This deal has been a fantastic effort across BFS that demonstrates our ability to support businesses with both invoice finance and asset finance to support a range of transactions.”

BFS was advised throughout the transaction by law firm Bermans. Its team was led by asset-based lending specialists Dave Gledhill and Alissa Marsh.