Twelve months after buying the equipment hire division of Lloyds British Testing, Lloyds Equipment Hire managing director Ian White and his venture capitalist backers have gone back and bought the rest of the company in a deal worth more than £5m ($7.5m).
The vendor, on both occasions, was KCI Konecranes.
The new organisation, called Lloyds Equipment Group, now comprises the rental business Lloyds Equipment Hire and the fabrication, installation and testing business Lloyds British. Lloyds British is primarily concerned with below-the-hook attachments and ancillary equipment.
The new owners had already grown turnover in the equipment hire business by 57% since the March 1999 buyout.
White said: “1999 was an outstanding first year for us in which we were able to invest over £1.3m [$2m] in new equipment for customer hire as well as open new local outlets.” The acquisition, announced on 31 March, increases group turnover to about £15m ($22m), employee numbers from 120 to about 300, and the number of operational outlets to 26.
Lloyds Konecranes, the crane service business, remains part of the KCI Konecranes group.
