Exsel owner Max Pearce, with just a few of his motorbikes. MOTORING AHEAD
Three new businesses in two years is pretty good going, by any measure. We caught up with Max Pearce of Exsel Plant & Tool Hire, just as the paint is drying on his next depot in Salisbury.
Max Pearce is most definitely not a man to let the grass grow under his feet. Hence, perhaps, his recent move into the groundscare sector, with the acquisition of Kings Worthy Garden Machinery in Winchester last year. As if that wasn’t enough to keep him busy, his latest moves see him in the midst of opening a new depot in Salisbury, as well as buying a large share in one of the largest motocross dealers in the country.
At 31, Max still has relative youth and energy on his side. For all of that, the responsibilities of managing several businesses, as well as developing a ‘power sports’ sideline (Exsel is the Polaris sports & leisure dealer for the south of the UK) is
asking a lot for a chap who still likes the equipment and favours a hands-on approach in everything that he does.
We begin with his latest venture, then. The new Salisbury depot is the literal blank canvas in its present state, so what’s the plan?
“This is all going to be plant hire, garden and agricultural machinery and sales. As well as the usual groundscare kit, we are going to stock Kubota excavators, Hayter mowers and we’re a Toro dealership,” says Max.
We actually have Alliance Tool Hire in the unit next door. However, they focus on hand and power tools, lifting and smaller equipment. We have agreed not to step on each other’s toes, so I think we are going to work well together.”
This empty space will soon be filled with garden machinery.
The Salisbury site used to belong to ‘Holeshot’ – the motocross dealer that Max has just bought a stake in. There are still signs of the former tenant, such as a themed mural on one of the walls and what seems like hundreds of pristine motorbikes in a
large space on the upper floor. “These are all ours now,” says Max, a little proudly. “We have over 2000 bikes between here, the new Holeshot site nearby and in Yeovil. However, this will all be moved out and this room will be used to display garden machinery. We’ve had to take on an additional unit, just for storage.”
The Holeshot business itself is a bit of a departure. How did this come about?
“I used to race quad bikes, so this definitely scratches an itch for me. Also, I know the owner well. He wasn’t enjoying the usual business headaches, so we offered to take them away and we bought a significant stake in the company - he is still the brains, though. Holeshot sells around 3,000 bikes a year, so it really is a big deal for us.”
Aside from more motorcycles than I could shake a stick at, how much has your business grown over the last 12 months?
“We’ve brought a lot of assets into the company since last year – telehandlers, woodchippers and diggers, which are all
38 Executive Hire News - Nov/Dec 2022
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
