10.12.2015

A-Plant acquires hoist firm

In the small print of yesterday’s results announcement from Ashtead was a mention that at the end of October A-Plant acquired the entire share capital of G.B. Access Ltd - the UK based hoist rental business - for £6 million in cash, with a possibility of a further £2 million payable over the next year dependent on factors not detailed.

G.B. Access was established in 1989 to install and maintain rack & pinion passenger and materials hoists. In 1994 it entered the construction hoist rental market and today claims to have the largest rental fleet of Alimak and Stros construction hoists in Europe, running around 230 passenger/material hoists, over 50 materials hoists and around 25 beam/davit type hoists.

The company is owned by Patrick Barford and Thomas Griggs and their families and had revenues for the year to the end of March, of £6 million with pre-tax profits of £1.1 million. Based in Oundle Peterborough it had net assets in the region of £6 million. No announcement has yet been made as to A-Plant’s plans or strategies for the business.
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A-Plant also acquired Fraluk Ltd, a climate control company, in October for £1 million in cash with a further million possible over the next two years.