05.12.2017

Irish acquisition for Loxam

French international rental group Loxam has acquired Irish general rental company Swan Plant Hire from its founder/owners.

Swan was established 45 years ago and operates from two locations in the Dublin area - its headquarters in Ballymount Road and a north side branch in Cloghran. The company offers a range of equipment such as mini excavators, compressor and dumpers to mowers, concrete finishing tools and power tools. No details of the transaction have been released.

Loxam chief executive Gérard Déprez said: “This acquisition will allow Loxam to strengthen its position in the Dublin area alongside its Loxam Access branch, and to diversify and complete its equipment range. We are happy to extend our footprint in this dynamic country where Loxam has been operating an equipment rental business for 18 years, and we are pleased to welcome the Swan employees to Loxam. We look forward to working together."

Swan chief executive Brian Connolly added: “We are convinced that the acquisition by Loxam is a great opportunity for our employees to join the European leader in the equipment rental industry. We trust that this acquisition will allow Swan to benefit from Loxam expertise and global growth prospects. We will follow Swan’s further development with interest."

Vertikal Comment

This is a slightly surprising move for Loxam, which until now has limited its Irish and UK operations to powered access. This is a relatively small bolt-on purchase which could be the first building block to move towards running a full-line general rental business in Ireland as it does in France. And perhaps at a later date it will extend this strategy to the UK?

Expect to see further acquisitions from Loxam as looks to stay firmly out in front as Europe’s leading equipment rental company.