Building the infrastructure behind
Britain's circular economy

Member Of
-22%
Capacity Drop (2023-2025)
130
New Facilities Needed
143MtCO₂e
Potential Carbon Avoided
Scroll to learn more

The Infrastructure Gap

Recover background

Recover

"Unlocking value from resources others throw away."

The Problem: The UK generates over 200m tonnes of waste annually, but domestic MRF sorting capacity stands at just 4.2m tonnes—sorting only 4%. The rest is exported or landfilled.

What Katharos Provides: We develop high-capacity Resource Recovery Platforms that sit at the center of the logistics network, reclaiming secondary commodities.

Recycle background

Recycle

"Building the infrastructure that enables a circular economy."

The Problem: UK plastics recycling capacity contracted by 22% recently. Reaching the government's 60% recycling rate requires 130 new domestic processing facilities.

What Katharos Provides: We accelerate project delivery from site origination to Ready-to-Build, introducing new mechanical and chemical sorting capacity.

Decarbonise background

Decarbonise

"Reducing carbon through smarter resource recovery."

The Problem: Combusting plastics in EfW plants drives high carbon emissions and exposes operators to carbon liabilities under the UK ETS.

What Katharos Provides: By pre-sorting municipal and commercial waste upstream, we achieve Virtual Capacity Expansion—avoiding up to 143 Mt CO₂e.

Our Expertise

Our leadership team and board bring deep, institutional expertise from the renewables, waste, investment banking, and legal sectors.

Leadership

Francis Mann

Francis Mann

CEO & Co-Founder

Francis has over 12 years of experience developing large-scale energy and infrastructure projects. Previously a Senior Project Development Manager for major renewables initiatives across Europe, South America, the Middle East, and Asia, he now co-leads Katharos after a career managing government affairs for onshore renewables.

Daniel Larkin

Daniel Larkin

CSO & Co-Founder

Daniel brings extensive experience in capital raising, corporate structuring, and business operations. With a deep background in international trade and project finance, he previously served as European Director for a US trade finance house, structuring multi-million dollar credit facilities across waste management, solar, and infrastructure sectors.

Hamish Courtauld

Hamish Courtauld

COO & Co-Founder

Hamish specializes in renewable energy and infrastructure transactions. Since 2021, he has worked in investment banking and capital raising, structuring equity and debt for green energy developers across Europe. A Chartered Accountant, he began his career auditing the UK Energy Department.

Board of Directors

Kareen Boutonnat

Kareen Boutonnat

Chair of the board

Kareen spent over 12 years at Lightsource bp, where she served as CEO for the EMEA and APAC regions, leading large-scale solar and renewable operations internationally. She also sits on the boards of Powerverse and Theta Solar.

Sir Edward Greenwell

Sir Edward Greenwell

Non-Executive Director

Sir Edward is a landowner, entrepreneur, and co-owner of Greenwell Farms, alongside development and land-based portfolios. Former President of the CLA, Trustee of the National Trust, and High Sheriff of Suffolk.

Hugh Grootenhuis

Hugh Grootenhuis

Non-Executive Director

Hugh is an established investment and finance professional, formerly CEO of Waverton Investment Management. Currently Independent NED at Raymond James Wealth Management and Chairman of FundRock Management (Ireland) Ltd.

Alexandra Desouza

Alexandra Desouza

Non-Executive Director

General Counsel EMEA & Head of Transactions at Lightsource bp, with 20 years’ experience in solar law, project finance, and international energy transactions. Board member of Solar Energy UK.

Featured News

Stay updated with our most important announcements, financing rounds, and insights as we build modern resource recovery infrastructure.

Loading latest news...

Become a Katharos Partner

We partner with industrial landowners, logistics operators, and local authorities to build at-scale recycling and waste sorting infrastructure portfolios across the United Kingdom.

Asset Origination

For Landowners

Secure long-term, index-linked lease rentals. We unlock value from large-format industrial and logistics acreage with zero upfront cost to the landowner, managing all engineering, planning permissions, and permits.

Regional Capacity

For Local Authorities

Increase regional circular resource recovery and reduce landfill reliance. We deploy private capital portfolios to meet statutory net-zero goals, bringing advanced mechanical and chemical polymer sorting locally.