What CTR Group does

CTR Group is a UK-headquartered reverse-logistics and circular-economy operator that processes surplus inventory, customer returns, end-of-life IT assets and plastic waste on behalf of retailers, brand owners, healthcare organisations and charities. Founded by Mark FitzGerald and headquartered in Marchington, Staffordshire, the company runs an integrated service stack across seven core lines: Reverse Logistics & Fulfilment, Resale & Redistribution, Take-Back & Donation Programmes, IT Asset Disposal (WEEE-compliant), Crisis Clearance, Secure Destruction & Disposal, and Plastic Recovery & Recycling, with CTR Response and CTR Recover operating as dedicated divisions. Operations are anchored by approximately 1,500 tonnes of weekly throughput, 500,000+ square feet of warehousing, distribution into 3,000+ UK retail outlets, and 25+ direct-to-consumer resale channels including the proprietary ZOA Group platform.

The technology layer consists of two named in-house assets: the ACTRA Portal, a client-facing system for real-time visibility of returns, resale and compliance reporting, and the ZOA Group DTC resale platform. Compliance infrastructure is a core operating asset: CTR holds ISO 9001 and ISO 14001, TRUST, WEEE compliance, Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) registration, UK Environment Agency permitting, PRN/PERN accreditation, and EcoVadis and Avetta ratings. Named enterprise customers include Lidl, Tesco, Ocado, Dunelm, White Stuff, Arcadia Group, Mothercare, 15+ NHS trusts and charities such as Dougie Mac.

The business model is B2B service revenue plus resale margin. CTR earns fees for collection, grading, processing and redistribution of surplus and returns, supplemented by margin on resale through its DTC channels and ZOA Group, and by recovery value from plastic recycling. Go-to-market is anchored in long-term enterprise contracts with major UK retailers and public-sector buyers, with adjacent expansion into 9 export countries. Senior leadership includes Mark FitzGerald as Managing Director and Louisa Hitchen as Chief Financial Officer, and the company was named to the LDC Top 50 in 2025.

Name

CTR Group

Legal name

CTR Group

Website

https://live.ctrgroup.co.uk

Company type

Private

Founded year

2014

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

CTR Group is a UK reverse-logistics and circular-economy operator that collects, processes, resells and recycles surplus inventory, returns and waste for retailers, healthcare organisations and charities via its ACTRA Portal and ZOA Group resale platform.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Waste Management and Reverse Logistics Services

NAICS

Recyclable Material Merchant Wholesalers (423930), Materials Recovery Facilities (56292), Waste Collection (5621), Merchant Wholesalers, Durable Goods (423)

SIC

Wholesale-Durable Goods (5000)

akta.pro primary industry

Asset Recovery, Surplus & Decommissioning Services (EUAIANAD)

akta.pro secondary industries

E-waste Collection, Aggregation & Reverse Logistics (BPALAIAB), Packaging Recovery & Closed-Loop Programs (Take-Back, Deposit-Return, EPR Support) (IMALAMAF), Recommerce, Trade-In & Buyback Collection (TLAAALAM)

Keywords

• Waste management services
• Reverse logistics
• Inventory recovery
• Plastic recycling
• IT asset disposal

Headquarters

HQ city

Uttoxeter

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices5 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Supply Chain, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Reverse Logistics & Fulfilment Services: End-to-end reverse logistics services including collection, sorting, grading, repackaging and redistribution of returned and excess inventory for retailers, wholesalers, and distributors.
2. Resale & Redistribution: Converting surplus inventory into revenue through controlled resale channels - premium grade items to vintage retailers, first/second grade to developing markets, third grade to upcycling/recycling.
3. Take-Back & Donation Programs: Managed return programmes converting customer returns and end-of-life products into charitable donations with chain-of-custody documentation and tax-receipt support.
4. IT Asset Disposal (WEEE Compliance): Secure data erasure, physical destruction, and authorized WEEE recycling with full audit trails for compliance.
5. Secure Destruction & Disposal: Industrial shredding and granulation of branded products to prevent market leakage with certified destruction documentation.
6. Plastic Recovery & Recycling: Collection, sorting, and recycling of plastic packaging materials (PET, PP, HDPE) with certified recycling processor partnerships and live ESG dashboards.
7. Crisis Clearance & Recovery (CTR Response): Emergency rapid response for major loss events - fire, flood, stock liquidation. CTR purchases stock from clients delivering immediate financial returns with zero removal costs to clients.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion4 records

Distribution channels8 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

CTR Group provides end-to-end downstream inventory recovery and circular economy services for retailers, wholesalers, supermarkets, charities and public sector organisations. The core offering covers reverse logistics and fulfilment, controlled resale and redistribution, take-back and donation programmes, IT asset disposal with WEEE compliance, crisis clearance, secure destruction, and plastic packaging recovery and recycling — supported by a proprietary ACTRA portal that delivers real-time traceability, audit trails and ESG reporting.

Product overview

CTR Group operates as a unified circular economy platform offering end-to-end downstream inventory recovery and sustainability solutions. The portfolio consists of seven core service lines: Reverse Logistics & Fulfilment, Resale & Redistribution, Take-Back & Donation Programmes, IT Asset Disposal (WEEE Compliance), Crisis Clearance, Secure Destruction & Disposal, and Plastic Recovery & Recycling. Two specialized divisions extend the offering: CTR Response handles disaster recovery and major loss events, while CTR Recover focuses specifically on plastic packaging recovery. Technology infrastructure is anchored by the proprietary ACTRA Portal for real-time operational visibility and reporting, complemented by the ZOA Group owned resale platform for direct-to-consumer digital channels. The company operates two UK processing facilities (Marchington for plastics and WEEE; Corby for reverse logistics and redistribution) and maintains international coverage across nine countries.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• CTR Response: Specialist division for disaster recovery, stock liquidation, and major loss events serving insurers, loss adjusters, and major brands.
• CTR Recover
• ZOA Group

Products and services

• Reverse Logistics & Fulfilment End-to-end reverse logistics service covering collection, sorting, grading, repackaging, relabelling and redistribution of surplus inventory and customer returns with full ESG audit trails. Designed for retailers, wholesalers, supermarkets and charities that need compliant downstream handling of returns and excess stock.
• Resale & Redistribution Controlled resale and redistribution service that converts surplus inventory, overstocks and returns into revenue through 25+ DTC ecommerce channels, UK wholesale networks and international markets with brand-safe protection and a reported 24% revenue uplift versus liquidation.
• Take-Back & Donation Programmes Donation management service that grades, routes and delivers returned or end-of-life products to accredited charity partners with full chain-of-custody documentation and impact reporting. Built for retailers with take-back schemes, charities seeking donations intake and brands running giveback initiatives.
• IT Asset Disposal (WEEE Compliance) Certified IT asset disposal service providing secure data erasure, physical destruction and WEEE-compliant recycling with full audit trails and ESG reporting. Used by NHS trusts, retailers and corporates retiring IT equipment and requiring certified data destruction and ESG compliance.
• Crisis Clearance Rapid emergency stock removal and recovery service for urgent overstock situations, product recalls or site closures, with 24-48 hour UK response times and maximum value recovery. Built for retailers, administrators and brands facing sudden surplus or distressed inventory events.
• Secure Destruction & Disposal Confidential destruction service for branded products, uniforms and samples using industrial shredding and granulation, with packaging recycling and full audit trails ensuring no product re-enters unauthorised markets. Designed for brands and corporate workwear programmes that need brand-safe disposal.
• Plastic Recovery & Recycling End-to-end plastic packaging recovery service collecting, sorting by material type (PET, HDPE, PP, film), shredding and granulating into recyclable flake for the plastics industry with zero-to-landfill guarantee. Used by supermarkets and FMCG brands needing compliant packaging recovery and EPR support.
• CTR Response Specialist disaster recovery and stock liquidation division handling major loss events including fire, flood, smoke damage and insurance claims, providing rapid 24-hour UK deployment with full remonetisation of distressed inventory and proprietary ACTRA client portal reporting.
• CTR Recover Plastic recovery division within CTR Group focused on circular economy solutions, processing hundreds of tonnes of plastic material weekly with real-time ESG reporting and certified downstream recycling partnerships for businesses transforming packaging waste into measurable outcomes.

Quantifiable outcome

• 99% reuse/recycling rate - less than 1% sent for energy recovery
• +6 more outcomes

Named customers11 records

Segments7 records

Ideal customer profiles6 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Eight partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• DunelmcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2025Textile take-back scheme partnership across 165 of 175 UK stores. CTR manages collection, sorting, and redistribution of textiles, supporting Dunelm's sustainability commitments and circular economy initiatives.
• Dougie MaccoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 29 June 2024Long-term charity partnership for donations management. CTR collects donations from charity shops, processes and redistributes goods while ensuring zero-to-landfill. Partnership has resulted in Business Partnership and Sustainability Awards recognition. Dougie Mac provides hospice care across Stoke-on-Trent and North Staffordshire.
• ZOA GroupcoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ Distributor · 1 January 2024CTR Group-owned resale platform of diverse reselling sites operating over CTR's logistics and fulfilment architecture. Delivers goods direct to consumer through multiple channels, offering maximum resale value for recovered inventory.
• OcadocoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2023Plastic recovery programme processing 25 tonnes per week. CTR sorts, shreds and granules plastics into flake for remanufacturing. Zero landfill guarantee with full chain-of-custody documentation. Materials feed into global remanufacturing streams.
• White StuffcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2022Collaborative take-back programme with Thift+ for clothing returns. CTR supplies return bags, collects and grades garments, routes approved stock to resale platforms or charity. Non-compliant items go to certified recyclers. Over 200,000 items processed in first year.
• Leading UK Charity (600 stores)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 20205-year partnership for end-to-end reverse logistics and fulfilment. CTR collects 50,000 items per week from charity's retail network, processes and redistributes through optimal channels. Partnership has processed 1.2 million items annually with 99.8% SLA uptime.
• International WEEE Recycling PartnerscoreTechnology or IntegrationCertified e-waste processors and recyclers for compliant WEEE processing. Handles processing of hardware for authorised recycling or secure refurbishment, with items channelled to appointed resellers across 25 global markets.
• NHS Trusts (15+)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerIT asset disposal services across more than 15 NHS trusts. CTR collects obsolete IT equipment, applies industrial-grade data wiping, sorts for WEEE recycling or refurbishment. Weekly processing of over 10 tonnes of IT assets.

Scale indicators18 records

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Others

• Reuse Network: UK charity network coordinating redistribution of surplus goods from retailers to member charities. Touches CTR's take-back and donation programmes on the recipient side rather than competing head-to-head.

Emerging players

• Recycleye: UK-based AI and robotics company applying computer vision to materials recovery facilities. Adjacent in the recycling value chain and complementary to CTR's sorting operations rather than a direct competitor.

Broad incumbents

• Veolia UK: UK arm of global environmental services group offering waste collection, recycling, and resource recovery. Comparable end-customer overlap with retailers and public sector, but from a much broader portfolio and at significantly larger scale.
• Biffa plc: UK-listed national waste management company providing collection, recycling, and recovery services at scale. Overlaps in commercial waste, recycling, and ESG services but operates as a much broader incumbent rather than a specialist.
• Clipper Logistics (GXO): UK e-fulfilment and returns management specialist, now part of GXO, serving major retailers with reverse logistics and value-added services. Overlaps with CTR in retail returns processing and value recovery.

Direct peers

• Sims Lifecycle Services: Global IT asset disposition provider offering secure data destruction, WEEE recycling, and refurbishment for enterprise and public-sector clients. Direct overlap with CTR's NHS and WEEE processing operations.
• Restore plc: UK-listed provider of IT asset disposal, document management, and recycling services. Closest UK-listed comparable given overlapping ITAD, WEEE compliance, and secure destruction offerings, with similar enterprise/government customer base.
• Reconomy: UK-headquartered waste and resource management specialist serving retailers and brands with circular economy services. Directly comparable in reverse logistics, compliance support, and ESG reporting for retail/wholesale customers.
• Reverse Logistics Group: Germany-headquartered reverse logistics, returns, and recommerce specialist serving brands and retailers across Europe. Comparable in take-back, grading, and resale of returned/surplus inventory at multi-country scale.
• Eurokey Recycling: UK-based recycler and reseller of surplus retail stock, returns, and end-of-line goods. Closely comparable in surplus-stock clearance, grading for resale, and secondary-market distribution.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

Compliance12 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles7 records

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about CTR Group