01.11.2005

Brandon buys Light Hire

Brandon Hire has made its eighth acquisition this year, purchasing the tool hire assets of Light Hire; the Devon based company managed by Brian Light. The purchase is a cash deal worth £500,000.

Light hire operates from three branches in Exeter, Exmouth and Okehampton, and operates a fleet of around 60 aerial lifts in addition to its general rental business.

The deal which was completed today, does not include the powered access rental business, this will remain with Light hire and will relocate to a new site close by. Brian Light and Richard Philpott will stay with the access business, which they now intend to expand from a single location.

The tool hire business has already started trading as Brandon Hire from opening time this morning.

Brian Light told Vertikal.Net that he is delighted with the deal, which provides the resources to develop and expand the powered access part of the business.

Brandon’s chief executive, Charles Skinner said “This acquisition improves our reach in certain parts of Devon and strengthens our market leadership in the county. Having established a national network, we are now looking to make more earnings-enhancing infill acquisitions such as this.”

The transaction takes the total number of branches in the Brandon Hire network to 141.

Vertikal Comment

This is one of those win win deals, Brandon obtain three good locations with a strong local customer base and experienced team, while Brian light releases a good deal of cash, a portion of which can be used to expand the powered access business, in a region where potential demand way outstrips availability.

The new business will also be a far simpler one to run than the multi location, multi product line tool hire operation. An industry that is increasingly dominated by the national and regional giants such as HSS, Speedy, Hewden hire and Brandon.