10.07.2026

poor year for Vp

UK rental group Vp - owner of UK Forks, MEP and Brandon Hire Station - has published its full year results for the year to the end of March 2026.

Total group revenues were £353 million down 5.7% on the same period in 2025 made up as follows:

UK
Revenues: £287.1 million - 9.5%
Operating profit: £24.6 million – 34%

International
Revenues: £71.2 million +14%
Operating profit: £12.6 million +32%

Group Pre-tax profit nosedived from a £21.7 million profit last year to a £7 million loss this year, partly due to lower revenues, but also the fact that ‘administration costs’ soared a further 33 percent, to £87.2 million, having jumped 35 percent last year. Plus £30.6 million spent on restructuring costs and write downs compared to £10.9 million last year. Take these away and we are looking at a non exceptional profit of £23.5 million, compared to £32.5 million last year

Capital Expenditure
Capital expenditure on the rental fleet declined 21 percent to £51.6 million.

Net Debt
Net debt increased a further 7.5 percent to £148.9 million.

Current trading and outlook


Chief Executive Alice Woodwark said: "We delivered a resilient performance against a tough macro-economic environment, while also completing our restructuring programme at Brandon Hire Station on time and as planned. Our diverse and collaborative specialist businesses are driving sector leading returns, and our performance will benefit from the continued execution of our strategic priorities in the current financial year.

"Following a review of the group during my first three months as CEO, I am encouraged by the strength of the business, the expertise of our people and the opportunity ahead. Our people have the skills, culture and commitment needed to deliver our next wave of growth. While there is more to do, the foundations are firmly in place to create sustained value for shareholders.”
“As we head into a new financial year, I am confident that we have in place a strong set of divisions with a reduced physical footprint and a clear customer-led asset offer, which will unlock the next wave of revenue and margin opportunities. This strength is partly due to the completion of the Brandon Hire Station transformation, which has repositioned our business for improved efficiency, utilisation and long term profitability as a purely business to business expert hire company.”

Vertikal Comment

This year's financials do not make good reading. Vp has been, or was, a well run, conservatively managed and yet innovative business for more than 30 years.

Since changing the senior management in 2023, when Allison Bainbridge retired as chief financial officer, after 12 years in the role, followed by chief executive Niel Stothard later in the year, having been with the company since the 1990s.

The current chief executive was only on board for four weeks of this fiscal year, so is not associated at all with these results. Although many, if not most, new chief executives like to clear the decks on arrival and write off or accrue for issues and potential issues, before they start out in their first year, even allowing for later write backs. Whether that might apply here to the bottom line, we have no idea.

What does scream out from the reports and results is a company that has become far more ‘corporate’ and financial analyst centric, than when it was managed by majority owners the Pilkingtons, including current chairman Jeremy Pilkington.

It will be interesting to see how things pan out in the current year.