AMCS Group, a Limerick-based environmental software developer, has closed a €23.5 million financing round led by Highland Capital Partners Europe (HCPE).

The investment will allow the company, which employs 130 people, including 50 in Limerick, to expand into the Americas, Europe, Australia and New Zealand.

It is the first investment by Highland in an Irish company since it opened an office in Dublin last year.

Existing investor Investec Ventures, through the Ulster Bank Diageo Venture fund, also supported the round, which saw WHEB Ventures, a European clean-tech private equity firm, exit.

AMCS was founded by Jimmy Martin and Austin Ryan. It had a turnover of €18 million last year from 700 customers globally in the waste management sector.

Mr Martin said the new investment would allow AMCS to hire 40 additional staff in Limerick over the next three years.

Balance sheet
"We are focused on growing pretty quickly, about 40 per cent to 50 per cent a year, and this will give us a strong balance sheet to do so," Mr Martin said.

“It will allow us further develop our products, expand into new markets and consider acquisitions.

“The industry is changing rapidly from being about collecting waste and dumping it in landfills to seeing it as a resource that can be recycled or turned into energy. Technology allows our customers to manage the process and measure how well they are doing.”

AMCS has already acquired businesses in the UK, North America and in Nordic countries. Mr Martin identified France and Poland as big opportunities in 2014 when he predicted his company would have revenues between €24-€25 million.

Tony Zappala and Fergal Mullen, both partners at HCPE, will join the board of AMCS after the transaction.

“AMCS Group is a very attractive business with patented unique software solutions which is leading the way business and governments make the move from simply handling waste to managing resources and providing better services to customers,” Mr Zappala said.