05.12.2015
Ainscough acquires Specialist Crane
UK crane rental company Ainscough has acquired Specialist Crane Hire Ltd, in an all share deal, according to letters sent to a number of employees yesterday from owner Peter Cosgrove and John Chappell.
Specialist Crane Hire Ltd is owned by Peter Cosgrove, 63, and was separated from Specialist Hire Group and associate company Rushlift some time ago, in preparation for the sale of Rushlift to Doosan in March, although the Crane business operates from a Rushlift depot in the North East.
Ainscough was itself acquired in March by US-based Oaktree Capital Management.
Established in 1965 as A. Jardine & Sons Ltd, Specialist Crane Hire operates from three locations, Bishops Auckland, Wigan and Morecambe, and covers a territory from the Scottish Borders down to North Wales and the North Midlands. According to the latest Cranes & Access Top 30 rental company survey, Specialist is the 26th largest crane hire company in the UK with 26 All Terrain cranes, topped by a 130 tonne Liebherr LTM1130-5.1
The Specialist Hire Group was set up in 2001 as an acquisition vehicle, and acquired Rushlift Mechanical Handling and Rushlift Forklifts the following year. In November of 2002 the group acquired its first crane rental company, A. Jardine and Sons Ltd (crane hire) of Morecambe from Andrew Jardine. A year later it added Marsden Crane Hire in Wigan from Keith Marsden, who remained on board for a few years after the takeover. His son Lee is operations manager.
The group purchased the crane fleet of Steel Force Bowmech in 2006 and took over the northern crane division of Beck and Pollitzer in 2008.
Telford and Heartlands crane hire was added shortly afterwards, but the loss making Telford location was closed in 2012. The three operations were all brought together under the Specialist Crane Hire brand in 2010.
Please register to see all images
Ainscough Crane Hire’s managing director Robin Richardson, said:“Specialist Crane Hire is a very successful business with a track record of delivering excellent customer service. Acquisitions are a key part of our fuve year plan and we are delighted to make such an excellent acquisition at the beginning of this process”.
Vertikal Comment
This news is not particularly surprising, given that Ainscough under its new owners Oaktree Capital, has an objective to build a fleet of 600 cranes by 2020 - from the current 460. Specialist Crane Hire has a decent fleet and is well managed.
One assumes that Specialist will be absorbed into the Ainscough operation, given that both companies have a location in the Wigan area and in the North East the depot Specialist Crane uses in Bishop Auckland is a Rushlift location – while Ainscough has two locations in the region.
The Specialist depot in Morecambe however might be a handy infill location for Ainscough.
In addition to expanding its fleet Ainscough will, of course, hope to retain as many Specialist staff and customers as possible. While competitors will hope to attract both away from the market leader. Ainscough is currently in a battle with its crane operators which may or may not be particularly helpful in retaining Specialist staff who will be more used to working within a company that is run by its owners?
Expect further acquisitions in the months and year ahead.
crane bitch
unfortunately its sister company ainscough vanguard is now much the same
Big Jib
Take note good people who have been offered a derisory pay rise on the threat of mass redundancies if you don't accept.
The board are playing games with you and insulting your intelligence. Sign up to their offer, or there will be lay offs. In the meantime, pay a few guys off who are just in the door to make it look like they mean business this time, you all fold and they win again.
Stand firm - they have money (despite their denials), they've just proved it with this acquisition.
Big Jib
Agree with all of the below. This is a company on a downward spiral with directors who take pride in their lack of knowledge of operated plant. A case of ego far outweighing ability? I hear they are miles behind on 2015/16 budget, so very surprised the owners have authorised further expenditure. So desperate for extra revenue streams they'll buy a business which overlaps their own? Nothing would surprise me.
Crane Man1
Making redundancies in Southampton Exeter Plymouth Crane Drivers Aps,lift supervisors last Friday buying in new staff a week later, Sounds like no direction.
cfk88
Another good company gone.
Crane expert
Spot on mate.
I wonder how long it will be before Ainscough is sold again. Looks like the current owners are using acquisitions to meat up the company to make it more attractive to buyers. I agree nobody at that company that has the knowledge of cranes and heritage of Ainscough. Come back Martin before it's too late
Crane expert
What they will do is get rid of any good management that knows cranes and replace them with a manager from Tesco or Asda