12 April 2024, London. Ocean 14 Capital Fund 1 SCSp (or the “Ocean 14 Capital Fund”), a private equity impact investment fund focused on the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goal 14 (SDG 14): Life Below Water, and Novelplast (or the “Company”), an Irish mechanical recycler announce today that they have signed an investment deal and have partnered to continue growing Novelplast’s business.

Founded in 2017, Novelplast has developed a unique manufacturing process using in-house expertise to upcycle post-industrial and post-consumer PET/polyester feedstocks into high quality rPET pellets, suitable for supply into the sheet, fibre and strapping industries.

The Company is leading the change in how those feedstock materials can be recycled and repurposed, serving its customers with a competitive recycled product.

“Over the last 5 years we have made huge progress in Novelplast, through expanding our product offering, increasing our sales annually and developing a sustainable company with the flexibility and expertise to continue growing into the future,” said Neil Skeffington, Founder and Chief Executive Officer.

“We are delighted to welcome Ocean 14 Capital Fund 1 as significant investors in Novelplast as we embark on the next phase of our growth journey. As an impact investor, the fund will bring a level of expertise in the sector as well as the capital required to help us achieve our goal of becoming one of the largest recyclers in the world, but more importantly to become one of the most responsible recyclers in the world,” added Skeffington.

“We are pleased to partner with Novelplast as a leading Irish PET recycler with unique manufacturing expertise in repurposing this polymer. Novelplast’s team under the leadership of Neil Skeffington have developed competitive recycled pellets suitable for multiple industries and applications,” said Francisco Saraiva Gomes, Founding Partner and Chief Investment Officer, Ocean 14 Capital.

“We are looking forward to support growth internationally and to enable increasingly efficient usage of resources through an extended life cycle. We believe this will incentivise further collection and recycling of plastic where it could otherwise end up in the environment, in turn fueling the company’s growth,” added Gomes.

Plastic waste is a key issue facing the planet with micro plastics now proven to cause damage to human health and ocean plastic pollution harming marine species and ecosystems. Production of plastics reached a staggering 400.3 million metric tons in 2022, with global plastic recycling rates well below 10%.

The Ocean 14 Capital Fund’s investment in Novelplast is particularly timely considering regulatory and consumer pressures within a global recycled plastics market valued at approximately $50 billion globally in 2022 and expected to growth at a compound annual rate of roughly 7% (from 2022) to 2030, of which PET is projected to reach nearly $24 billion by 2030.

About Ocean 14 Capital

Ocean 14 Capital Fund 1 SCSp (or the “Fund”) is an impact fund with €200 million of raised capital and focused on driving a sustainable and regenerative blue economy through an industrial approach. The Fund’s investment adviser, Ocean 14 Capital Ltd, has a team who combine more than 100+ years of investment, impact and industry experience. The investment adviser’s team and advisers are some of the world’s most renowned scientists and marine biologists, and have unparalleled access to proprietary deal flow and sector knowledge. www.ocean14capital.com

About Novelplast  

Founded in 2017, Novelplast is an Irish PET mechanical recycler that upcycles post-industrial and post-consumer PET post-industrial and post-consumer PET/polyester feedstocks into high quality RPET pellets, suitable for supply into the sheet, fibre and strapping industries. www.novelplast.ie

For further information, please contact:

Chris Gorell Barnes, Founding Partner, Ocean 14 Capital Ltd: +44 7802 738062