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Yahoo
08-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
If You Build It, Will They Come? How Material Innovators Decide Where to Break Commercial Ground.
Syre has picked its first commercial site. While the H&M Group-backed 'circular' polyester manufacturer is already in the middle of constructing a 10,000-metric-ton blueprint plant in Cedar Creek in North Carolina, where its textile-to-textile recycling technology was first honed, Syre was always thinking big—and bigger. More from Sourcing Journal Material World: Is Lunaform Ready to Wear? Yes. Ready to Scale? Also Yes. Uncaged Innovation Invites Designers to Elevate the Future Material World: Circ Secures 5-Year Partner, Sodra's Tannin Arms Call On Friday, the Stockholm-headquartered firm announced that it has signed a memorandum of understanding with the northern Vietnamese province of Binh Dinh—the first step in raising from the ground a $700 million-$1 billion 'gigascale' factory capable of pumping out up to 250,000 metric tons of PET chips for spinning into yarn. The idea is to create a network of 12 setups worldwide that would collectively pump out more than 3 million metric tons of the same within a decade, reducing the fashion industry's reliance on both virgin polyester and its bottle-to-textile recycled alternative. Syre had narrowed down the options to two industrial parks that would be able to supply the renewable energy it desired: one near Ocean City in Hanoi that is replete with solar farms and the other in the Nhon Hoi Economic Zone near the coast in Binh Dinh, where windmills are in abundance. But Vietnam is also smack dab in the middle of the broader textile industry in Southeast Asia, 'so you have the natural value chain of the textile industry in that region,' said CEO Dennis Nobelius. 'When you speak with the bigger brands about where they would like to see the plant, Vietnam comes up quite quickly and quite high on that list.' While Syre and other innovators in the textile-to-textile recycled polyester space —think the likes of Ambercycle, Circ and Reju—all have ambitions of eventual world domination, which is necessary to cut down on the time, cost and emissions it'll take to ship things around, nailing that first location is crucial because it informs everything that follows. But it also isn't easy to figure out. Most of the clothing waste that will serve as their feedstock hails from the global North. The mills and factories that would take Syre or Circ's chips, repolymerize them into polyester threads that are then spun into yarn for weaving or knitting into fabric, are in the global South, mainly in Asia. So are the cut-and-sew facilities that would turn them into new garments, restarting the cycle. 'Site selection almost makes my head explode, because it's like building a bridge,' said Shay Sethi, CEO of Ambercycle, which is based in Los Angeles. 'There are so many ways to build a bridge, but at the end of the day, a bridge has to be built. I also think there's no real wrong answer. There are pros and cons to every location.' Ambercycle plans to start constructing its first plant this year, though many things, such as size and product volumes, are still TBD, at least publicly. But the factory will likely be situated somewhere in the Asia-Pacific region, with initial production poised to begin circa 2027. While Europe and North America may have a lot of government grant programs, Sethi and Moby Ahmed, his co-founder, haven't been able to find a single example of a materials company that found success with any of them. And despite President Donald Trump's tariff-fueled efforts to reshore manufacturing in the United States, the large bulk of apparel is still made overseas, making Asia a more attractive location. But Sethi and Ahmed, who are both of South Asian descent, feel most comfortable doing business in Asia, which Sethi said might be the most important consideration of all. But even then, there can be complications. If they build in India, for instance, would Ahmed, who is Pakistani, be able to obtain a visa to enter the country? If they pick Pakistan, would Sethi have trouble because he is of Indian heritage? And when the plant gets built, will there be enough capacity—not to mention the right personnel—to deliver and manage Ambercycle's chemistry at scale? The location's accessibility is also something that needs to be weighed. Sethi looked at a site that was perfect except that it was in the middle of nowhere, which meant it would be difficult for brands and retailers to visit the factory without getting into the business of paving roads and building a landing strip. And since some Ambercycle staffers would be relocating from Los Angeles, another question that is frequently batted around is whether they can see themselves living there. 'It's really easy to make a decision from an Excel spreadsheet, but it's totally different when you're at these sites talking to people that you're working with that are from that region,' Sethi said. 'I guess the Ambercycle culture has always been, you know, we really take our time and try and understand everything before we say, 'O.K., this is what we're going to do. This is how we're going to do it.' And then if one thing works, then you could do another thing and then another thing.' That each country has its own idiosyncrasies—regulatory and otherwise—that can throw additional wrenches. Bangladesh and Vietnam, for instance, don't allow used clothing imports. One of Syre's potential challenges with Vietnam is that domestic demand can only supply 10 percent of the upward of 300,000 metric tons of post-consumer material that it will need to keep its machines churning. Syre and the Vietnamese government plan to pilot a mechanism that gives the company the license to bring in textiles from surrounding countries. 'That, along with the green energy, is a key criterion,' Nobelius said. 'If those can't be provided, we would probably have to look at a different country. But we're trying to make clear that we are in a different mode or industry. There is no fear of bringing in used clothing and dumping or re-selling it.' Like Ambercycle, Circ is getting closer to revealing its first site, likely within the next few months. There will probably be a Plan A and a Plan B, 'just in case something goes wrong with the first,' said Luke Henning, the Virginia-based company's chief commercial officer. In both cases, what's paramount is whether the site is technically viable, which also incidentally makes it financeable. Is there enough land? What will logistics look like? 'Because logistics can kill you,' said Henning, drawing from his previous experience working with biofuels. 'For example, corn is superexpensive in the Carolinas but supercheap in the Midwest. It is cheaper to get corn into the Carolinas from South America than it is from Ohio because the rail links there are so expensive that it's cheaper to send it by boat. But you can't send it in by boat from an American port to an American port because it's too expensive, so you literally have to import it.' For Henning, then, the question of proximity is not as important as the logistics options that are available, with shipping generally being the least expensive and most efficient, followed by rail and road. And that goes both in and out, since the factory would then want to send its output, whether chips or thread or yarn, to the next producer and then the next. In a perfect scenario, an innovator would have ready and easy logistical access to both the raw material and to its fiber producers. Because that is rarely the case, the next best thing is to only freight goods with the highest value density. 'Ideally want to be closer to the waste in some way, just because that tends to be the thing you want to ship the least distance because it has the lowest value,' he said. 'So your logistics adds a higher proportional cost onto feedstock than it does onto the output.' All that ties into the investability of the project. Certain venture capital funds might have a geographical mandate to only spend money within the United States or Europe. Other investors might have concerns about the political stability of a location or its legal environment. Even if some funds have the ability to make exceptions, 'then you've just made your life harder because you're seeking an exception from their established mandate,' Henning said. 'It depends on what your end goal or end game is,' said Patrik Fisk, CEO of French 'materials regeneration' company Reju, which is beginning with textile-to-textile recycled polyester, or simply Reju polyester, before it explores other materials like cotton or nylon. Reju's Frankfurt demonstration plant is already up and running. Its next act is establishing two 'megafactories,' one in the United States and one elsewhere in Europe, that can generate 100,000 metric tons of polymer apiece. It's partly because those geographies are seemingly endless wellsprings of textile waste that Reju wants to use those initial sites to make a statement about why fashion's linear system of take-make-dispose needs to change. The availability of green energy and water for its steam-dependent chemical processes is another factor, as is the infrastructure for the advanced chemistry that it dabbles in. Where all the 'stars align' becomes fairly limited all things considered, Fisk said. Despite pockets of progress in Asia, for instance, many countries—Vietnam included—are still highly reliant on coal. 'The other thing we should ask ourselves is, where do you want to take care of the waste?' he said. 'So are you attempting to ship the waste to Asia, make your stuff there and then ship the garments back? Or are you actually trying to solve two things at once? Which is taking care of the post-consumer waste in the region and making it into a new product in the region?' All that might be moot in a matter of years. Eventually, Reju envisions at least 20 megafactories dotted across the globe, allowing it to seize a potential market share of roughly 25 percent of textile-to-textile recycled materials. 'It takes three years to build one unit, and one unit isn't going to be enough for even one brand,' Fisk said. 'So let's start somewhere where we can also control and make sure that we are proving out the model of circularity before we start trying to make this into a commodity. This will not be a commodity coming out of the gate. This is going to be a new product coming out of the gate.'
Yahoo
08-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
The Nutriment Company makes Bulmer Pet Foods latest UK acquisition
The Nutriment Company has continued its acquisition spree with the takeover of UK-based Bulmer Pet Foods. The deal marks the Sweden-headquartered firm's fifth acquisition in 2025. Financial details of the deal have not been disclosed. The owner of the Nutriment brand said the move is part of its strategy to 'expand its portfolio to make raw feeding more accessible across the UK'. Bulmer Pet Foods, which specialises in providing natural raw food at an 'affordable price', will add a 'diverse range' of raw nutrition options its portfolio, The Nutriment Company added. Anders Kristiansen, CEO of The Nutriment Company, said the deal 'further strengthens our leading position in the UK, and Bulmer Pet Food's assortment is a perfect complement to our existing product portfolio'. In January, the Stockholm-headquartered group announced the acquisitions of UK group The Dog's Butcher, also a provider of raw dog food, along with Your Pet Nutrition, a manufacturer of pet supplements. Bulmer Pet Foods offers a variety of products such as minced meat, bones and chunks. The products are available through its own stores and via stockists across the UK. Backed by Nordic private-equity firm Axcel, The Nutriment Company said the team at Bulmer Pet Foods will benefit from its 'extensive network, expertise and resources'. Bulmer Pet Foods CEO Mark Sharman added: 'Joining forces with The Nutriment Company marks a major milestone for our company. With the resources and expertise of the new team, we're unlocking entirely new opportunities for growth and success.' Last month, the Nutriment Company purchased BAF Petfood from its German counterpart, Fressnapf. In February, the company entered Spain by acquiring Puromenu, another producer specialising in raw pet food. "The Nutriment Company makes Bulmer Pet Foods latest UK acquisition " was originally created and published by Just Food, a GlobalData owned brand. The information on this site has been included in good faith for general informational purposes only. It is not intended to amount to advice on which you should rely, and we give no representation, warranty or guarantee, whether express or implied as to its accuracy or completeness. You must obtain professional or specialist advice before taking, or refraining from, any action on the basis of the content on our site. Sign in to access your portfolio
Zawya
25-03-2025
- Business
- Zawya
Klarna IPO filing spurs hope of British fintech listings
LONDON - Klarna's upcoming U.S. initial public offering could help unlock a pipeline of British fintech flotations after a barren period for new technology listings, investors, lawyers and an executive told Reuters. Stockholm-headquartered Klarna, best known for its buy-now pay-later products, publicly filed to float on the New York Stock Exchange earlier this month in its second attempt at listing on the public markets in four years. It had looked to IPO in 2021, after shooting from a valuation of $5.5 billion to $45.6 billion in three funding rounds. But investors soured on tech companies as interest rates rose and economies stuttered, and the company was forced to cut its valuation to $6.7 billion in a 2022 fundraising. Now it is back, and could be worth at least $15 billion in an IPO likely to be priced in the first half of April, one person with knowledge of the plans said. "Any successful IPO of a high-profile business in the sector will be a catalyst for others to look again at an IPO as a strategic option for growth and/or liquidity," said James Wootton, a partner at Linklaters, who advised money transfer company Wise on its 2021 listing in London. At the peak of a post-pandemic fundraising boom in 2021, 101 fintech companies raised $296.86 billion via IPOs on global stock markets, according to data from PitchBook, compiled for Reuters. But between 2022 and 2024, just 86 firms raised $32.76 billion via IPOs. Klarna's plans have fuelled hopes of a resurgence. "It's quite clear that the market is looking to Klarna as a bellwether for future fintech IPOs, many of which are in a long pipeline," said Tim Levene, chief executive of London-listed fintech investment fund Augmentum. "We hope that Klarna is the first of many to list, which will prove a positive data point for the rest of the market." WAITING IN THE WINGS Challenger banks Monzo and Starling, as well as payments companies Zilch and Ebury, are among the fintech companies considering plans to list at some point in the future, sources close to the companies told Reuters. Zilch, which offers a competing buy-now pay-later product to Klarna, is currently aiming to float in 2026, Philip Belamant, its chief executive, told Reuters. "The Klarna IPO will be a significant moment for the fintech sector, and we'll be watching closely," he said, adding that a successful IPO could "set the stage for greater investor confidence in European fintechs going public". Ebury, a Spanish-founded payments company majority owned by Banco Santander, is gearing up for a London listing by June at the earliest, one person familiar with knowledge of its plans said. The company will likely seek a valuation of around 2 billion pounds ($2.6 billion), the person said, adding the timing would depend on market conditions. Ebury did not respond to a request for comment. Santander declined to comment. It has said in the past that listing Ebury was one of many alternatives for the business. Britain's Revolut has previously signalled its intention to list publicly. A spokesperson for the challenger bank, Britain's most highly-valued startup, declined to comment on specifics. "Our focus is not on if or when we IPO, but on continuing to expand the business, building new products, and providing better and cheaper services to serve our growing global customer base," the person said. Zopa, which is headquartered in London, has no firm timeline for an IPO, a spokesperson said. "We continue to plan towards an eventual IPO, preferably in the UK and can be ready in a short time, however we will wait for the right macroeconomic and market conditions," the spokesperson said. To be sure, many have raised money and can wait, and conditions are volatile, forcing some European companies to put IPOs on hold. "A lot of them (fintech companies) have the luxury of being able to choose their time,' said Patrick Evans, head of UK equity capital markets at Citi. The choice of the U.S. venue by Klarna is also likely to intensify debate over where these fast-growing companies should list. Monzo has discussed floating in Britain or the U.S. but has set no firm timeline or venue for an IPO, a person familiar with the company's plans said. The London Stock Exchange has been making overtures to fintech companies including Zilch, one person familiar with the matter said. Zilch has yet to choose a venue, the person said. The London Stock Exchange Group declined to comment. ($1 = 0.7747 pounds)
Yahoo
24-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Analysis-Klarna IPO filing spurs hope of British fintech listings
By Charlie Conchie LONDON (Reuters) - Klarna's upcoming U.S. initial public offering could help unlock a pipeline of British fintech flotations after a barren period for new technology listings, investors, lawyers and an executive told Reuters. Stockholm-headquartered Klarna, best known for its buy-now pay-later products, publicly filed to float on the New York Stock Exchange earlier this month in its second attempt at listing on the public markets in four years. It had looked to IPO in 2021, after shooting from a valuation of $5.5 billion to $45.6 billion in three funding rounds. But investors soured on tech companies as interest rates rose and economies stuttered, and the company was forced to cut its valuation to $6.7 billion in a 2022 fundraising. Now it is back, and could be worth at least $15 billion in an IPO likely to be priced in the first half of April, one person with knowledge of the plans said. "Any successful IPO of a high-profile business in the sector will be a catalyst for others to look again at an IPO as a strategic option for growth and/or liquidity," said James Wootton, a partner at Linklaters, who advised money transfer company Wise on its 2021 listing in London. At the peak of a post-pandemic fundraising boom in 2021, 101 fintech companies raised $296.86 billion via IPOs on global stock markets, according to data from PitchBook, compiled for Reuters. But between 2022 and 2024, just 86 firms raised $32.76 billion via IPOs. Klarna's plans have fuelled hopes of a resurgence. "It's quite clear that the market is looking to Klarna as a bellwether for future fintech IPOs, many of which are in a long pipeline," said Tim Levene, chief executive of London-listed fintech investment fund Augmentum. "We hope that Klarna is the first of many to list, which will prove a positive data point for the rest of the market." WAITING IN THE WINGS Challenger banks Monzo and Starling, as well as payments companies Zilch and Ebury, are among the fintech companies considering plans to list at some point in the future, sources close to the companies told Reuters. Zilch, which offers a competing buy-now pay-later product to Klarna, is currently aiming to float in 2026, Philip Belamant, its chief executive, told Reuters. "The Klarna IPO will be a significant moment for the fintech sector, and we'll be watching closely," he said, adding that a successful IPO could "set the stage for greater investor confidence in European fintechs going public". Ebury, a Spanish-founded payments company majority owned by Banco Santander, is gearing up for a London listing by June at the earliest, one person familiar with knowledge of its plans said. The company will likely seek a valuation of around 2 billion pounds ($2.6 billion), the person said, adding the timing would depend on market conditions. Ebury did not respond to a request for comment. Santander declined to comment. It has said in the past that listing Ebury was one of many alternatives for the business. Britain's Revolut has previously signalled its intention to list publicly. A spokesperson for the challenger bank, Britain's most highly-valued startup, declined to comment on specifics. "Our focus is not on if or when we IPO, but on continuing to expand the business, building new products, and providing better and cheaper services to serve our growing global customer base," the person said. Zopa, which is headquartered in London, has no firm timeline for an IPO, a spokesperson said. "We continue to plan towards an eventual IPO, preferably in the UK and can be ready in a short time, however we will wait for the right macroeconomic and market conditions," the spokesperson said. To be sure, many have raised money and can wait, and conditions are volatile, forcing some European companies to put IPOs on hold. "A lot of them (fintech companies) have the luxury of being able to choose their time,' said Patrick Evans, head of UK equity capital markets at Citi. The choice of the U.S. venue by Klarna is also likely to intensify debate over where these fast-growing companies should list. Monzo has discussed floating in Britain or the U.S. but has set no firm timeline or venue for an IPO, a person familiar with the company's plans said. The London Stock Exchange has been making overtures to fintech companies including Zilch, one person familiar with the matter said. Zilch has yet to choose a venue, the person said. The London Stock Exchange Group declined to comment. ($1 = 0.7747 pounds) Sign in to access your portfolio
Reuters
24-03-2025
- Business
- Reuters
Klarna IPO filing spurs hope of British fintech listings
LONDON, March 24 (Reuters) - Klarna's upcoming U.S. initial public offering could help unlock a pipeline of British fintech flotations after a barren period for new technology listings, investors, lawyers and an executive told Reuters. Stockholm-headquartered Klarna, best known for its buy-now pay-later products, publicly filed to float on the New York Stock Exchange earlier this month in its second attempt at listing on the public markets in four years. It had looked to IPO in 2021, after shooting from a valuation of $5.5 billion to $45.6 billion in three funding rounds. But investors soured on tech companies as interest rates rose and economies stuttered, and the company was forced to cut its valuation to $6.7 billion in a 2022 fundraising. Now it is back, and could be worth at least $15 billion in an IPO likely to be priced in the first half of April, one person with knowledge of the plans said. "Any successful IPO of a high-profile business in the sector will be a catalyst for others to look again at an IPO as a strategic option for growth and/or liquidity," said James Wootton, a partner at Linklaters, who advised money transfer company Wise on its 2021 listing in London. At the peak of a post-pandemic fundraising boom in 2021, 101 fintech companies raised $296.86 billion via IPOs on global stock markets, according to data from PitchBook, compiled for Reuters. But between 2022 and 2024, just 86 firms raised $32.76 billion via IPOs. Klarna's plans have fuelled hopes of a resurgence. "It's quite clear that the market is looking to Klarna as a bellwether for future fintech IPOs, many of which are in a long pipeline," said Tim Levene, chief executive of London-listed fintech investment fund Augmentum. "We hope that Klarna is the first of many to list, which will prove a positive data point for the rest of the market." WAITING IN THE WINGS Challenger banks Monzo and Starling, as well as payments companies Zilch and Ebury, are among the fintech companies considering plans to list at some point in the future, sources close to the companies told Reuters. Zilch, which offers a competing buy-now pay-later product to Klarna, is currently aiming to float in 2026, Philip Belamant, its chief executive, told Reuters. "The Klarna IPO will be a significant moment for the fintech sector, and we'll be watching closely," he said, adding that a successful IPO could "set the stage for greater investor confidence in European fintechs going public". Ebury, a Spanish-founded payments company majority owned by Banco Santander ( opens new tab, is gearing up for a London listing by June at the earliest, one person familiar with knowledge of its plans said. The company will likely seek a valuation of around 2 billion pounds ($2.6 billion), the person said, adding the timing would depend on market conditions. Ebury did not respond to a request for comment. Santander declined to comment. It has said in the past that listing Ebury was one of many alternatives for the business. Britain's Revolut has previously signalled its intention to list publicly. A spokesperson for the challenger bank, Britain's most highly-valued startup, declined to comment on specifics. "Our focus is not on if or when we IPO, but on continuing to expand the business, building new products, and providing better and cheaper services to serve our growing global customer base," the person said. Zopa, which is headquartered in London, has no firm timeline for an IPO, a spokesperson said. "We continue to plan towards an eventual IPO, preferably in the UK and can be ready in a short time, however we will wait for the right macroeconomic and market conditions," the spokesperson said. To be sure, many have raised money and can wait, and conditions are volatile, forcing some European companies to put IPOs on hold. "A lot of them (fintech companies) have the luxury of being able to choose their time,' said Patrick Evans, head of UK equity capital markets at Citi. The choice of the U.S. venue by Klarna is also likely to intensify debate over where these fast-growing companies should list. Monzo has discussed floating in Britain or the U.S. but has set no firm timeline or venue for an IPO, a person familiar with the company's plans said. The London Stock Exchange has been making overtures to fintech companies including Zilch, one person familiar with the matter said. Zilch has yet to choose a venue, the person said. The London Stock Exchange Group declined to comment.
