London, 7 January, 2009 - 2K Manufacturing is pleased to announce a multi-stage funding agreement with Foresight Group, a leading environmental investor, to support a multi-site rollout of plastics recycling facilities. The company will manufacture an environmentally friendly plywood substitute board for the construction industry. Foresight has supported a £5million funding package to open the first facility during 2009 as part of a larger framework agreement with Foresight to support rapid expansion of the company.

The multi award-winning “EcoSheet” is made from recycled waste plastics otherwise headed for landfill and is, in turn itself entirely recyclable. Ecosheet offers substantial environmental, commercial and operational benefits for its users, with the construction and signage industries being the main target markets.
 
To enable this, 2K has licensed the use of the ground-breaking Powder Impression Moulding (“PIM”) technology, a patented process owned by ERT plc. The PIM process allows the production of strengthened plastic composite forms using low-grade co-mingled polymer material, in a low carbon footprint moulding process. This process essentially allows 2K to recover waste plastics and re-introduce them back into commercial applications. These products are themselves in turn fully recyclable at the end of their useful life.  The licensing arrangement gives 2K exclusive rights to manufacture and sell these products within the EU, as well as the first option over other main territories. 
Andrew Page, the Foresight partner responsible for the firm’s investment in 2K Manufacturing, commented: “2K is one of a small group of leading companies in the field of waste plastic recycling, with its product addressing very large markets and offering a compelling proposition; cost savings and performance benefits as well as the obvious green credentials. The company has strong partners in the construction industry which give it a significant head start in capitalising on the opportunities which lie ahead.”

Omer Kutluoglu, CEO of 2K Manufacturing, commented: “This milestone funding agreement enables 2K Manufacturing to fully implement its multi-site business strategy, with its first mass-production facility to open later this year.  We are delighted to have teamed up with one of the UK’s leading environmental investors, and enthusiastically welcome Andrew to the Board of Directors.”

Ends
For further information, please contact:
Foresight Group: Louise Farley on +44 (0)1732 471800
www.foresightgroup.eu

2K Manufacturing Ltd: Omer Kutluoglu on +44 (0) 870 710 710 9
www.2kmanufacturing.com

Martineau: Kavita Patel on +44(0)870 763 1645
Field Fisher Waterhouse: Neil Foster on +44(0)207 861 6783
Phoenix Corporate Finance Partners: Dr Christopher Jaeger/Marc Iarchy on +44(0)207 898 9223

Advisors to the Deal
Foresight Group was advised by Martineau Solicitors.  Legal advice to 2K was provided by Field Fisher Waterhouse.  Phoenix Corporate Finance Partners LLP acted as financial adviser to 2K Manufacturing. 

About Foresight Group
Foresight is a leading independent alternative asset manager specializing in funding growth companies and small management buyouts across the environmental infrastructure sectors. The Group focuses primarily on investments in unquoted UK and European companies and offers investors access to a number of proprietary investment products.

Foresight Group currently manages over €250 million across a number of funds.  These include the four Foresight Venture Capital Trusts, Foresight European Solar Fund and Foresight UK Sustainable Investment Fund, a fund focused on investments in environmental infrastructure.

Recent investments made by Foresight have included Closed Loop Recycling, the UK’s first recycler of waste plastic bottles back into food packaging material: O-Gen UK, which generates renewable electricity from biomass; Land Energy, a producer of wood pellets for sustainable heating in homes and schools; AWP Environmental, which plans to generate power from waste using an advanced gasification technology that reduces harmful emissions; Lynwood, which collects waste materials from manufacturers of a variety of plastic products and remoulds this into useful products; and Silvigen, a UK based producer and supplier of biomass fuels for use in the power industry. The company also has a significant investment in Iskra, a manufacturer of tree-sized wind turbines.