Revenues top £300m at holdings company
A Harrogate-based holdings company has seen revenues surpass £300m following a year of acquisitions at the company it owns a major stake in.
Holding company Ackers P Investment Company has a 50.26% stake in listed hire firm Vp, also based in Harrogate.
Posting company accounts on Companies House for the financial year ending 31 March 2018, Ackers saw revenues rise by 22% to £303.6m, compared to the £248.7m achieved at the same period in 2017. Group operating profit also slightly increased to £34.2m (2017: £33.2m).
During this period, the company generated strong cash flows with EBITDA rising to £84.3m from the £71.2m reported the prior year.
This strong growth follows on from a year in which Vp completed four acquisitions.
In April 2017, Vp bought mechanical and electrical equipment hirer Jackson Mechanical Services (JMS M&E) for £3.6m. Later that month, the company also acquired Zenith Survey Equipment in a deal worth £3.85m.
In November of that year, the group also snapped up Brandon Hire Group Holdings Limited and its subsidiaries ‘Brandon Hire’ for a cash consideration of £41.6m plus debt of £27.2m.
Finally, the company also purchased First National, a specialist rough terrain forklift rental business for £900,000 and debt of £800,000.
This period was also capped off with investments in Vp’s rental fleet rising to £64.9m, compared to year’s total of £57.6m
In recently filed accounts, director Jeremy Pilkington said: “The group continues to drive positive change and development through the whole of Vp and remain excited about delivering on those initiatives in the new financial year.”
