First Mile
Recycling services provider
Contributing Sustainable Development Goals
Background
First Mile is an environmental services company that helps businesses reduce their carbon impact with a range of recycling, waste and circular economy services. First Mile has a differentiated approach to waste and recycling collections with a specialist focus on supporting businesses operating in city centre locations through a high level of customer service. They use technology to efficiently & cost effectively collect multiple waste streams daily across London & Birmingham.
The company was founded in 2004 by CEO, Bruce Bratley; we partnered with Bruce and the management team through an investment in May 2017 to support the business in driving rapid sales growth and supporting the scaling of its infrastructure.
Our investment partnership
First Mile has developed a well-managed operational platform that enables it to deliver an essential service, drive exceptional customer satisfaction and continue to scale. This provides the business with a compelling market position in a very large and resilient market.
First Mile has a track record of excellent growth, driven by winning new customers, existing customer repeat spend and low churn. It has achieved a very strong position in the London market, where agility and flexibility of fleet and service is paramount. The business has also expanded its footprint with operations in Birmingham and strong partnerships nationwide.
The business continues to develop its broader environmental offering to become a leader on sustainability issues.
Strategic support through our Growth Toolkit
Since our investment we have closely supported Bruce and his team with numerous strategic growth initiatives, leveraging our Growth Toolkit and Network:
Accelerating Growth
Commercial
-
Strategic Marketing - Development of digital marketing strategy to build brand and support sales initiatives, including the hiring of a Head of Marketing to build out a revised digital-first approach to SMEs
-
Sales/GTM - Investment in significant sales resources to drive accelerated growth
- Hired Head of Sales and Account Management to support CCO
- Led significant investment in customer facing tech to support the sales process
-
M&A - Supported the business in developing an M&A pipeline which led to the acquisition of commercial customers from Redbridge Council
People & Organisation
Leadership
-
Senior Team - Recruitment of an experienced Chair and CFO from the GCP network
-
SLT - Strengthened senior leadership team to focus on goals of driving customer success and supporting growth
Talent & Culture
-
People Function - Supported a purpose-led culture, with investment in people development
-
Academy - Set up a driver academy to support the internal development of the workforce
Platform for Success
Finance and Operations
-
Finance Function - Finance Function Recruitment of CFO with subsequent development of the finance function and management reporting
-
Data/Automation/AI
- Increased use of data to proactively engage customers, supporting both growth and customer retention
-
Operating Systems - Investment in new CRM system to enhance customer engagement and automate marketing
- Investment in new ERP system to support internal processes and improve reporting
- Ongoing project to upgrade operational IT systems, enhancing automation of route planning and driver interactions
Delivering the Best Outcome
-
High-Quality Delivery - GCP led banking process to refinance incumbent lender and secure additional liquidity during the pandemic