The investors comprised Catapult Venture Managers (CVM), HSBC and Bridges Community Ventures (BCV), which supplied £450,000.

Whelan has also been backed by The North Staffordshire Risk Capital Fund, The Michelin Fund and Advantage West Midlands. The company is presently refurbishing a disused refinery for £2 million, which will create 25 jobs and recycle 50,000 tonnes of used oil each year.

The oil will be turned into base oil for industrial and automotive lubricants. It is the first refinery of its kind in the UK and is scheduled to open in January 2007. Managing director John Whelan says: ‘The technology has developed enormously over the past few years to a point where a plant can refine the used oil to a state undistinguishable from virgin oil.’

Professional services firm BDO Stoy Hayward and law firm George Green acted for Whelan’s management. Oakdene Hollins, a waste management specialist, performed due diligence and law firm Wragge & Co represented BCV and CVM.

Antony Ross, a director at BCV, is joining Whelan’s board.