UK rental company Thomas Plant has acquired Orbital Equipment from owners Noel, Craig and Sarah Smith, strengthening its presence in southern England.
Orbital Equipment was established in 1999 and is based in Waltham Abbey, Essex. It had revenues in the fiscal year 2023/2024 of £13.2 million, with a pre-tax profit of just over £1 million. Tangible net worth was £7.1 million, but it also had a £2.3 million negative working capital and was struggling to pay its bills.
The company had a fleet of around 700 machines, including JCB and Manitou telehandlers ranging from 4m/2,000kg sub-compacts up to 17m/4,000kg models, along with transport vehicles and a wide range of excavators. The acquisition will see the Orbital Equipment fleet, employees and operations integrated into the Thomas group.
A few units from Orbital's telehandler fleet
Orbital's owners, the Smith family, will now focus on Orbital Civil Engineering, which will remain under its current ownership and management team as a separate, independent business.
Thomas Plant said: “Today, we welcome Orbital Equipment into the Thomas family as part of our ongoing growth strategy and commitment to delivering industry-leading plant hire solutions across the UK.”
“This acquisition strengthens our fleet, expands our geographic reach across the southern region of the country, and increases our capacity to support customers with the highest standards of service, reliability, and innovation. The Orbital team brings exceptional expertise, and we’re excited to build on their strong reputation as we continue to invest in the future of the industry.”
The business began as the equipment fleet of the Thomas contractors and civil engineers, which began renting its machines to others when they were not required on its projects. By 2000, rentals to others had become significant, so it set up Thomas Plant Hire. The company is based in Mold, rural North Wales - east of Chester, but operates from 12 locations across England, Wales and Scotland, and runs a fleet of scissor lifts, telehandlers, trailers, forklifts and excavators, loaders and cabins.
The company and its parent, Thomas Holdings, are owned by Wyn Thomas and managed by the Thomas family. It had revenues for 2023/2024 of almost £44 million, with a pre-tax profit of £420,000. Thomas Holdings reported revenues for the same period of more than £82 million with a pre-tax profit of £1.4 million.
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