SGMA Raises £4M From Oaktree to Scale Its Impermeable Paper Coating Technology

SGMA, a UK-based materials science and coatings company, has raised £4 million from Oaktree to advance the commercialisation of its proprietary coating technology. The company has developed a process that renders paper and other substrate materials impermeable to liquids and gases, opening up a range of applications across packaging, food service, and industrial materials where plastic coatings or lamination are currently the standard approach. SGMA's lead application is an impermeable paper cup that can replace conventional single-use plastic-lined cups without sacrificing performance, a product category under intense regulatory and consumer pressure across the UK and Europe.

Single-use plastics in food service packaging represent one of the most visible and contested fronts in the broader effort to reduce plastic waste. The familiar disposable coffee cup — a paper outer with a thin polyethylene liner — is technically not recyclable through most kerbside systems because the plastic film cannot be separated from the paper fibre at standard recycling facilities. Tens of billions of these cups are used annually in the UK and globally, the vast majority ending up in landfill or incineration. Regulatory frameworks in the UK and EU are steadily tightening around these products, creating both pressure on incumbent manufacturers and a commercial opening for viable alternatives.

SGMA's coating technology addresses the performance requirements that have kept plastic liners dominant — principally, the need to hold hot liquids without leaking, softening, or imparting taste — while producing a product that can enter standard paper recycling streams. Beyond cups, the company believes its technology has application across a range of coatings and products for multiple industries, including barrier packaging for food, moisture-resistant materials for construction and logistics, and specialty papers for industrial processes that require chemical resistance without plastic lamination.

The investment from Oaktree, the global alternative asset manager, provides the capital to scale manufacturing capabilities and develop commercial partnerships across SGMA's target markets. The company is positioned at the intersection of materials innovation and the regulatory shift away from single-use plastics — a confluence of forces that is attracting significant investor interest in sustainable packaging alternatives across Europe and North America.

The broader sustainable packaging market is growing rapidly as brand owners face both regulatory deadlines and consumer expectations around recyclability and waste reduction. SGMA's coating approach — modifying the substrate itself rather than adding a separate barrier layer — offers a manufacturing route that avoids the complexity of multi-material laminate structures, which have been difficult to recycle regardless of the individual materials involved.

Sources

• Soapbox