LEF funds expansion of Terra Nova

LEF Funds Expansion of Electronic Waste Recycler Terra Nova

·; Ludgate Environmental Fund has led a €4.2 million (£3.4 million) funding round into Terra Nova with an investment of €1.6 million (£1.3 million)

·; Terra Nova's first plant for recycling printed circuit boards is fully operational and regularly delivering to major metals smelters

·; New investment will fund significant expansion of capacity

Ludgate Environmental Fund Limited ("LEF") is pleased to announce its participation in a funding round into Terra Nova SAS ("Terra Nova") to finance continued growth over the coming year. Terra Nova has raised a total of €4.2 million (£3.4 million) of new capital from existing shareholders via the issue of preference shares, of which LEF has invested €1.6 million (£1.3 million). The funds will be used to finance Terra Nova's rapidly increasing production and capital projects to increase processing capacity and scope.

Terra Nova was established in 2006 by experts from the metals sector, led by CEO and founder, Christian Thomas. Terra Nova's team is addressing the growing regulatory requirement to recycle electronic waste and reduce the current flow to the developing world. The Terra Nova facility has commenced regular deliveries and has customer demand for production volumes in excess of its existing capacity of the plant, from major metal smelters including KGHM (Poland), Metallo Chimique (Belgium), LS Metal (Korea) and Mitsubishi Metals (Japan).

The funding round follows the initial investment in 2009 used to finance the first full scale facility in Isbergues (Pas-de-Calais), France. To date, LEF has invested approximately £5.3 million into Terra Nova and will hold a 37 per cent stake in the company.

Commenting on the announcement, Christian Thomas, CEO of Terra Nova said: "I'm delighted to announce the close of our fundraising led by Ludgate Environmental Fund. With this capital, Terra Nova has the resources to deliver rapid growth. We have made huge progress over the last three years and this investment will allow us to meet the customer demand which is outstripping our initial production capacity."

Bill Weil, Chief Investment Officer of the Ludgate Environmental Fund said: "Ludgate Environmental Fund continues to support the impressive growth of Terra Nova. We are pleased to fund the company through the next stage of growth, building on their proven WEEE processing technology with defensible, differentiable intellectual property and remain excited about the prospects for growth."

For further information contact:

Ludgate Environmental Fund Limited +44 (0) 1534 609034

John Shakeshaft, Chairman

Ludgate Investments Limited +44 (0) 20 7621 5770

Bill Weil, Chief Investment Officer

PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP (Nomad) +44 (0) 20 7212 1798

Chris Clarke

Panmure Gordon (Broker) +44 (0) 20 7866 2713

Paul Fincham

Notes to Editors

About Terra Nova:

Terra Nova operates a proprietary electronic waste treatment and recycling business. The founders of Terra Nova worked together in the metals industry, including for a number of years at Metaleurop, a quoted lead, zinc and precious metal processor. The pyrolysis plant in Isbergues (Pas-de-Calais), France pre-treats printed circuit boards and has secured sales contracts with major international copper smelters.

For more information www.terranovametal.com

About Ludgate Environmental Fund:  

Ludgate Environmental Fund invests in a diverse portfolio of late stage emerging companies in the European cleantech sector. Actively managing its holdings, Ludgate Environmental Fund invests growth capital. Investments are focused on: waste management and recycling; renewable energy; energy efficiency; and water. 

Ludgate Environmental Fund was launched in August 2007 and has assets under management of £44.3 million as at 30 September 2012. Ludgate Environmental Fund is a Jersey domiciled closed-ended investment company, quoted on AIM under the symbol LEF.L.

For more information www.ludgateenvironmental.com