Commercial vehicle hire firm lands £13.5m funding line
A Leicestershire commercial vehicle hire and fleet management services firm has landed £13.5m in funding from Secure Trust Bank Commercial Finance
Go Plant Fleet Services, which is headquartered in Leicestershire, provides access to specialist commercial vehicles such as road sweepers, refuse collection trucks, gritters and caged tippers on both short and long term hire.
The company was formed as a result of a merger of Essential Fleet Services Ltd and Go Plant Limited, which was backed by private equity house Endless last year. The business has sales in excess of £70m, and over 500 staff based across its 38 depots in the UK.
The company says it will use the cash to expand its national footprint by investing in depots and acquiring outsourced fleet contracts in new regions, whilst also making strategic acquisitions that will increase its market share and boost headcount. Cash will also be spent on IT infrastructure.
The facility provided by Secure Trust Bank replaces an existing £4m working capital facility.
Matthew Jubb, investment director at Endless, said: “We’re delighted to once again work with Secure Trust Bank as it provides new funding facilities to an Endless investment.”
Mark Gallimore, commercial director at Go Plant Fleet Services added: “The senior management team is committed to developing a business of quality and scale that will act as a ‘one stop shop’ for the hire of specialist commercial vehicles and associated fleet management services, and we’re excited by the growth prospects available across our core markets.”
Sean Powell, national sales director at Secure Trust Bank Commercial Finance, said: “The specialist vehicle fleet management market is highly fragmented and under professionalised, which presents both a challenge and an opportunity to ambitious companies. With this new line of funding, Go Plant is in a position where it can capitalise on this and look at making strategic acquisitions to bolster its influence, which will potentially increase its range of services into new markets.
“The management team at Go Plant have set their target to increase turnover by 35 per cent by 2020, and with our support, we are confident that the business can continue to expand both organically and through acquisitions.”
Rob Jones, head of debt advisory in the North for EY Go Plant and Endless on the deal.
