AT THE HEART OF HIRE
THE RECO VER Y STRENGTHENS
As we gear up towards next February’s Executive Hire Show by visiting hundreds of hirers the length and breadth of the UK and Ireland to mobilise and excite them to visit the Show, their comments on current trading are positive and encouraging. Overall, almost all the 225 hire outlets we visited during October were pleased with their level of business, with several achieving record turnover levels.
Indeed, this month’s featured hirers - Hire4Lower in Lambeth and south Wales-based Phoenix Hire - are both enjoying new records. Hire4Lower’s trading year to May this year was its most successful in its ten year history, and Phoenix achieved record turnover in September and October.
According to our team on the road, the house building programme is gaining momentum, as they are seeing many new developments on their travels. Hire4Lower’s MD Colin Tall even reckons the number of tower cranes on City of London horizon is a record.
From conversations we had with a good number of hirers featured in our ‘Vox Pop’ pages in this issue, they also continue to report growth as the recovery strengthens. In our annual Compact Plant Market Report, the manufacturers we contacted in compiling the lead article, without exception, highlighted increased sales of mini excavators this year.
In this issue, we also catch up on the progress made by one of our most popular hirers, Glasgow-based GAP Group. Having achieved 14% growth in its year to March this year, it is confident that its revenues will exceed £110m in the period to March 2014, in the process overtaking those of another Scottish-founded hirer, Hewden (Stuart), which saw its revenues drop 15% last year to just under £102m.
The Anderson clan that operates GAP is now developing its third generation of executives and, as the UK’s largest family-owned hirer, it has the luxury of being able to take a long term view. Its share-
3
holders will clearly have had different expectations from those at Hewden throughout this most challenging recent period.
“Now is the time to grow”
Hewden does seem to have lost its way in the market, as confirmed by a 10% contraction in its fleet and a continuation of losses at both the trading and pre-tax levels. In spite of this, Hewden has recently announced a £61m capital spend in response to ‘increasing construction activity across the UK’. Chief Executive Kevin Parkes states that Hewden’s recovery plan is complete and that “now is the time to grow.”
One of the industry’s mid-size ‘barometer’ hirers is Nixon Hire, which has just reported an impressive 16% growth with revenues of £26.7m, taking pre-tax profits to just under £2m. MD Graham Nixon is confident that this year will see a similar rate of growth with revenues rising to over £32m, while maintaining profit margins. Nixon is making a significant commitment through its 2020 Vision, a business plan that targets £50m turnover by 2020, encompassing new depot openings and new product lines. This year the company has undertaken a significant fleet replacement programme, investing £19m in capital expenditure.
During the recession, Nixon took the brave decision to establish a business in Qatar. In the current year to date, this has seen growth of well over 200%. The company is in the throes of raising further finance to expand this business, and it is also in the process of setting up a joint venture in Saudi Arabia. Its first depot will open in Jeddah this year, with further outlets planned in Riyadh and Daman.
Generally, there are increasing signs of a gradual return to economic growth, and some rally in the fortunes of the construction industry, with October’s Construction Managers’ Index at its highest level since September 2007. The challenges we face as an industry have not gone away completely, but they are receding. Hirers that have successfully met these challenges are now well positioned to reap the rewards.
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60