06.04.2017

Boels moves into the UK

Dutch international rental group Boels has acquired the entire share capital of Supply UK Hire Shops Ltd, which trades as - Supply UK Group - for an undisclosed sum.

Stockport based Supply UK is primarily a tool hire business with a strong specialist survey and laser equipment division. The company is owned by management which founded the company in 1998 and operates from 25 locations - 17 tool hire branches and five specialist Survey & Laser equipment outlets across England, Wales and Edinburgh, Scotland - with 165 employees. Revenues last year were £15.4 million with a pre-tax profit of £946,165 and net assets of £3.1 million.

Supply UK's managing director and co-owner Chris Haycocks, 56, will continue to manage the business, which will be re-branded as Boels sometime in the future. Speaking of the move he said: "Boels investment will enable us to offer an ever increasing selection of new equipment during our next phase of growth."

Boel’s managing director Pierre Boels added "The UK is the largest market for equipment and tool rental in Europe, so it was a natural step for us, having found the right team in Supply UK that shares our customer service ethos. The rental concepts we will bring, together with continued investment in new equipment and facilities, will work well for customers in the UK."

Vertikal Comment

This makes very good sense for Boels, the UK is a substantial tool and small equipment rental market, and with the recent problems and both Speedy and HSS opportunities for outsiders or smaller players has rarely been better.

Supply UK also appears to have had a few working capital issues in past couple of years or so, having the support of a strong international group which fully understands the business give the company a major boost and transform its ability to expand.

The interesting thing will be to see if Boels decides to broaden the current product range, adding powered access and larger equipment?