Renewi
A European waste-management and recycling company focused on recovering materials and supporting the circular economy.
Last updated October 30, 2026
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Overview
Renewi is a European waste-management and recycling company whose operations are concentrated in Belgium, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom. The business was created in 2017 when UK-listed Shanks Group agreed to acquire and merge with Dutch recycling company Van Gansewinkel, adopting the Renewi name to emphasize resource recovery and circular-economy activities. Its services span municipal and commercial waste collection, sorting, recycling, treatment, composting, soil cleaning, landfill management, refuse-derived fuel production, anaerobic digestion and industrial cleaning. Rather than treating waste solely as a disposal problem, Renewi presents its operating model around extracting useful materials and energy from discarded products and reducing reliance on virgin resources and fossil fuels. The company’s corporate history reaches back to 1880, when Guy Shanks and Andrew McEwan established Shanks & McEwan as a construction company in the west of Scotland. Shanks later moved away from construction and concentrated on waste management. Its 1988 London Stock Exchange listing was followed by the acquisition of London Brick Landfill, giving the group substantial landfill capacity north of London. During the 1990s, the remaining construction interests were sold. The group expanded into continental Europe through acquisitions in Belgium in the late 1990s and the purchase of Waste Management Nederland B.V. in 2000. After the Van Gansewinkel merger, Renewi operated across a wider European footprint, but subsequently narrowed its geographic and operational focus. In 2019 it sold its Canadian operations to Convent Capital and its Reym industrial-cleaning business to Remondis. The resulting portfolio centered on municipal, commercial and industrial waste services in the Benelux and the UK. In the UK, activities included long-term local-authority municipal solid-waste contracts, food-waste anaerobic digestion and the production of lower-carbon alternatives to fossil fuels. Dutch operations combined collection, sorting, processing, reuse, recycling, soil cleaning, composting, landfill, refuse-derived fuel and industrial cleaning. Belgian operations included collection, recycling, soil cleaning, refuse-derived fuel, waste treatment and landfill in Flanders, Wallonia and Brussels. In February 2025, a consortium of affiliates of Macquarie Group and British Columbia Investment Management Corporation made an offer valued at approximately £707 million. After court approval in June, the acquisition completed on 6 June 2025. The transaction ended Renewi’s listing on the London Stock Exchange and Euronext Amsterdam, while the Renewi operating brand continued under private ownership.
History
Renewi’s historical roots lie in Shanks & McEwan, a construction company founded in 1880 by Guy Shanks and Andrew McEwan in the west of Scotland. The business eventually moved away from construction and became focused on waste management. A major step in that transition came in 1988, when the company was first listed on the London Stock Exchange and acquired London Brick Landfill. The acquisition provided substantial landfill capacity north of London and strengthened the company’s position in the UK waste sector. During the mid-1990s, the company disposed of its remaining construction interests and concentrated on waste management. It expanded into continental Europe in 1998 by acquiring four Belgian waste-management companies. In 1999 the group changed its name to Shanks Group. Its Dutch presence grew further in March 2000 through the acquisition of Waste Management Nederland B.V. In July 2004, Shanks sold its UK landfill and landfill-gas power assets to Terra Firma Capital Partners. The group later expanded its Dutch activities, including the acquisition of Smink Beheer B.V. for €62 million in 2006. The decisive corporate transformation came in 2017. Shanks agreed to acquire Dutch recycling company Van Gansewinkel for €432 million, and the businesses were combined under the Renewi name. The new identity reflected a strategic emphasis on recovering value from waste and supporting a circular economy rather than relying primarily on disposal. Renewi initially operated across a broader set of European and international markets, but management subsequently pursued a more focused portfolio. In 2019, the company sold its Canadian operations to Convent Capital and its Reym-branded industrial-cleaning business to Remondis. Following this refocusing, the company’s main activities were concentrated in the United Kingdom, the Netherlands and Belgium. UK operations included local-authority municipal solid-waste contracts, food-waste anaerobic digestion and the production of lower-carbon substitutes for fossil fuels. Dutch operations combined collection, sorting, processing, reuse, recycling, soil cleaning, composting, landfill, refuse-derived fuel and industrial cleaning. Belgian operations included collection, recycling, soil cleaning, refuse-derived fuel, waste treatment and landfill in Flanders, Wallonia and Brussels. In February 2025, affiliates of Macquarie Group and British Columbia Investment Management Corporation formed a consortium to bid for Renewi at an indicated value of £707 million. The proposal received court approval in June 2025, and the acquisition was completed on 6 June. This ended Renewi’s public-market status on the London Stock Exchange and Euronext Amsterdam. The transaction marked the transition of Renewi from a listed company to a privately owned waste-management and recycling business, while its operating brand and core circular-economy activities continued.
- 2025
Renewi is acquired by a Macquarie and BCI consortium
[1]The acquisition, valued at approximately £707 million, receives court approval and completes on 6 June 2025.
- 2019
Portfolio refocusing
[1]Renewi sells its Canadian operations to Convent Capital and its Reym industrial-cleaning business to Remondis.
- 2017
Renewi is created
[1]Shanks merges with Van Gansewinkel after agreeing to acquire the Dutch recycling group for €432 million, and adopts the Renewi name.
- 2006
Smink Beheer B.V. acquisition
[1]The group expands its Dutch activities by acquiring Smink Beheer B.V. for €62 million.
- 2004
UK landfill assets are sold
[1]Shanks sells its UK landfill and landfill-gas power assets to Terra Firma Capital Partners.
- 2000
Dutch expansion
[1]Shanks acquires Waste Management Nederland B.V., strengthening its presence in the Netherlands.
- 1999
The Shanks Group name is adopted
[1]The company changes its name to Shanks Group as it develops its waste-management focus.
- 1998
Expansion into Belgium
[1]The group acquires four waste-management companies in Belgium.
- 1990
Construction interests are divested
[1]During the mid-1990s, the group sells its remaining construction interests and focuses on waste management.
- 1988
Shanks lists on the London Stock Exchange
[1]The company becomes publicly listed and acquires London Brick Landfill, adding substantial landfill capacity north of London.
Products and positioning
A circular-economy waste-management provider that aims to recover materials, generate useful energy and reduce the environmental impact of disposal.
Waste collection and treatment
Municipal solid-waste services
Renewi provides collection, treatment and recovery services for municipal solid waste, including long-term local-authority contracts in the United Kingdom. These activities connect household and public-sector waste collection with sorting, recycling, treatment and disposal infrastructure.
Recycling services
Materials recovery and recycling
The company sorts and processes collected waste to recover reusable materials. Its circular-economy model emphasizes reuse and recycling where technically and economically feasible, reducing the amount of material sent to landfill and creating secondary raw-material streams.
Organic-waste treatment
Food-waste anaerobic digestion
Renewi treats food waste through anaerobic digestion in the UK. This process converts organic material into biogas and digestate, supporting energy recovery and offering an alternative to conventional disposal routes.
Waste-derived fuels
Refuse-derived fuel
Renewi produces refuse-derived fuel from suitable residual waste streams. The offering is positioned as a lower-carbon alternative to some fossil-fuel inputs and forms part of the company’s effort to recover energy from material that cannot be conventionally recycled.
Environmental treatment
Soil cleaning and composting
In Belgium and the Netherlands, Renewi’s activities include soil cleaning and composting. These services treat contaminated or organic materials and support the recovery or safe management of waste streams beyond standard collection and sorting.
Industrial waste services
Industrial and hazardous waste treatment
Renewi provides industrial waste collection and treatment services in its core markets. The broader portfolio has included industrial cleaning and specialist waste handling, although the Reym-branded industrial-cleaning business was sold in 2019.
Brand decisions
2025
Acquisition by Macquarie and BCI affiliatesM&ABackground
A consortium formed by Macquarie European Infrastructure Fund 7 and BCI UK IRR proposed to acquire Renewi.
Action taken
The consortium made an offer valued at approximately £707 million and completed the acquisition on 6 June 2025 after court approval.
Aftermath
Renewi ceased to be a listed company on the London Stock Exchange and Euronext Amsterdam and continued under private ownership.
Acquisition offer value. £707 million (February-June 2025)
2019
Portfolio and geographic refocusingStrategyBackground
Renewi pursued a strategy of concentrating on core operations and regions.
Action taken
The company sold its Canadian operations to Convent Capital and its Reym-branded industrial-cleaning business to Remondis.
Aftermath
The business became more concentrated on the United Kingdom, the Netherlands and Belgium and on its core waste-management activities.
2017
Merger with Van GansewinkelM&ABackground
Shanks sought to combine with Dutch recycling company Van Gansewinkel to expand its European waste-management and recycling platform.
Action taken
The acquisition and merger were agreed at a stated value of €432 million, followed by adoption of the Renewi name.
Aftermath
The transaction created Renewi and established the circular-economy positioning associated with the brand.
Acquisition value. €432 million (2017)
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