Payments Fintech Total Processing has received a £5 million investment from BOOST&Co; an alternative lender, specialising in supporting high-growth SMEs.

A testament to their triple-digit growth over the last 12 months; having seen more than a 244% rise in revenue, the Manchester-based company was fortunate enough to expand their team throughout the coronavirus lockdown, whilst continuing to provide end-to-end services to business owners adapting to the ever-changing landscape.

Quickly growing out of their UK headquarters, Total Processing’s Board of Directors moved to accelerate their roadmap for helping merchants across the globe by securing new offices in the UK, Dubai and Frankfurt.

Speaking of the investment, CEO Cameron Lee said, “We’re delighted to have secured funding to accelerate our growth across domestic and international markets. The growth is pretty crazy, more people are buying online and that’s led to a demand for our services.

Ecommerce is prevailing over bricks-and-mortar retail, people are concentrating on how much they are paying in fees so it’s been easier to win clients over on cost, and Zoom has allowed us to have meetings that we wouldn’t have got in person that has led to a decent amount of new business

We plan to scale the business significantly over the next 12 months, providing over 30 additional jobs to the UK during a time of volatility across all sectors.”

The team at BOOST have been great from start to finish and have really taken the time to understand our business model and disruptive proposition.

Advancing against fintech competitors Stripe and Mollie, BOOST&Co’s investment also facilitates an anticipated expansion of resources for Total Processing’s enterprise-level clients. Through the funding, Total processing has been able to scale up their resources in order to assist larger brands with the delivery of custom payment processing and gateway solutions, across e-commerce and instore channels worldwide.

Total Processing’s move into the UAE and Frankfurt is the first of many. Ryan Sorby, principal at BOOST&Co, endorsed further plans to expand into the MENA and European markets stating, “Total Processing has a proven business model and as the business continues to scale, it still looks likely to deliver the triple-digit growth it has seen year-on-year, which is incredibly impressive; the momentum is almost tangible.”

The UK’s largest food waste recycling business, Keenan Recycling has invested almost £4.5 million into its English vehicle fleet to further grow market share, including key collections in Manchester.

The Aberdeen headquartered company, which reduces the amount of waste going into landfill by collecting and recycling organic material, has added 6 new vehicles, worth around £115,000 each to its operations in Manchester. This is as part of a large investment for almost 40 new vehicles to be rolled out across regions in England.

Initially set up as a garden composting business, Keenan Recycling launched its commercial food waste collection services in Scotland in 2009 before moving south of the border and expanding across England since 2018. Focused on reducing the amount of waste going to landfill, Keenan is passionate about delivering a cost-effective service that encourages customers to reduce the impact on the environment.

This is because a fifth of UK greenhouse gas emissions are associated with food waste, making it a greater cause of global warming than plastic waste. By responsibly managing food waste, Keenan can cut back on the harmful emissions caused by rotting food.

The Macpac food waste collection vehicles will play a key role in the continued growth of the company in Manchester, where Keenan is forecasting to double its workforce in the next five years.

The new fleet of trucks boast a bespoke configuration that allows customers to track when their bin has been uplifted. With a top of the range, expanded fleet, Keenan believes it can accelerate its growth ambitions across the UK.

Currently processing over 100,000 tonnes of organic waste each year, the company turns food waste into premium grade compost or biofuel, which generates electricity at numerous anaerobic digestion plants (ADPs) across England.

Collections director, Claire Keenan, explains: “Scotland has already introduced legislation requiring all businesses that produce over 5kg of food waste per week to recycle it but this is still to come in England.

“However, with an increasing focus on green sustainability, forward-thinking businesses in England are already making better choices with their food waste management. Our new fleet of collection trucks puts us in an ideal position to expand our services and capitalise on the opportunities when new legislation comes into force in the next few years.”

The ambitious green company already partners with recycling and resource management company, SUEZ in Manchester, servicing a range of SUEZ’s customers including cafes, restaurants and hotels in England who are recycling their food waste.

In addition to collecting waste, the new range of trucks also promote the highest standard of road safety. Equipped with five-camera live streaming, including an in-cab camera, driver behaviour telematics, reversing radar and a cyclear system, the vehicles will maintain Keenan’s stringent health and safety and customer service standards.

Ms Keenan added: “Health and safety and customer service are a priority for us at Keenan Recycling and this investment in new equipment and technology will raise the bar in standards for waste collections.”