18.09.2020

New owner for A Mini Crane Hire

UK spider crane rental company A Mini Crane Hire has been acquired by entrepreneur, Mark Davenport from owners Pete Piekarus and Anthony Travis, in what is described as a seven figure deal.

Founded in 2009, A Mini Crane Hire runs a fleet of around 90 machines, including 50 spider cranes, a mini crawler and two tonne pick & carry cranes. This is along with glass handing attachments, robots and other equipment from locations in London and Liverpool with 33 employees. Total assets were £2.74 million according to the latest accounts - or £1.34 million net.

Davenport, a qualified engineer, was appointed as a director of the company earlier this year and has ambitious growth plans over the next four to five years. They include expanding operations - possibly with additional outlets - establishing a strong management team, and investing £1.5 million to refurbish the existing fleet. This is already underway, while at the same time it is introducing new equipment, including nine all electric spider cranes.
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A Mini Crane Hire’s new owner Mark Davenport (L) with retiring owner Peter Piekarus

Davenport said: “The business has fought its way through lockdown, with sales now back to where they should be, and annual turnover still expected to be in excess of £5 million. The company has recruited two new high quality sales people and a new manager for the Liverpool depot.”

"A Mini Crane Hire is a very capable business, with a strong reputation in the market. We have a highly skilled, experienced and knowledgeable team who are passionate about safety, customer service and getting the job done. My vision is to build on this, strengthen the team further, invest in sales and marketing communications, expand the fleet, and improve our information flows and communications to drive growth.

"We also remain fully committed to sustainability and will continue to make incremental changes that will serve our community and benefit the planet. With that in mind, we will welcome nine new electric powered cranes to the fleet later this year, plus our first electric car for one of our new sales employees. As part of this investment, we are also in the process of refurbishing the existing fleet, ensuring that we are maintaining the high standard of customer service that we are known for. 2021 will be very interesting.”

Prior to the acquisition, Davenport owned and managed polythene converter Flextex, having joined the business in 2008 and purchased it from the founders the following year. Last year he sold the business to the two key managers in a Management Buy Out deal.

He also spent a year as managing director of SGB Rovacabin, having joined the business in 2007 from a similar role as Arquest which manufactures own brand nappies for supermarkets