20.11.2017

Equistone acquires BFT

UK based private equity firm Equistone Partners Europe has acquired a majority stake in UK mastclimber rental company/contractor BFT Mastclimbing.

The rest of the shares will continue to be held by founder and chief executive Robin Head. The financial terms of the deal have not been disclosed.

Founded in 1997 as a façade scaffold contractor under the name Boards, Fittings & Tubes, the company began switching over to mastclimbers in 2005, and now runs a fleet of more than 650 mastclimbing work platforms from its Leighton Buzzard, Bedfordshire location, most of them from Spanish manufacturer Alba, with platform capacities of up to 5,000kg.

Revenues last year were £6.3 million, with a pre-tax profit of just over £1 million. The company has expanded rapidly in recent years with assets increasing almost 45 percent to almost £7 million. See Cranes & Access visit and profile 2009 Equistone says that under its ownership it plans to expand both the fleet and operations.
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BFT also runs an IPAF training centre for Mast Climbing Work Platforms

Equistone partner Dominic Geer said: “BFT Mastclimbing is a highly impressive family business run by an entrepreneurial management team, operating in an under penetrated market where the potential for rapid growth is significant. Equistone’s investment will provide the funding that BFT requires to increase its capacity and further enhance its national coverage, as well as the impetus to convert a greater share of UK contractors to the advantages of mastclimbing technology. We are delighted to be working with Robin and his talented team, and to be supporting the business through this next, exciting phase of its growth.”

BFT chief executive Robin Head added: “We are staunch believers in the benefits provided by our mastclimbing platforms, on projects ranging from short-duration maintenance work to complex, long term builds requiring 50 plus machines. This investment from Equistone will provide a major boost to our scale and capacity to deliver a lower cost, safer, and more flexible alternative to traditional scaffolding. As we look to further grow the business over the coming years, the entire team remains committed to maintaining the qualities of service and reliability for which we have been known to date.”