Speedy quells talk of HSS tie-up

TOOL hire rivals Speedy and HSS have had secret talks over a merger, it has been claimed.

Sky News reported the listed companies – which have both had years to forget – had been exploring a combination, but talks had ended after a boardroom bust-up at Newton-le-Willows firm Speedy Hire, which sparked the departure of two long serving non-executives, Chris Masters and James Morley, who were against the tie-up.

Dr Masters, a NED since 2011 resigned on November 18, while audit committee chairman Morley left two days later on November 20.

In a statement to the Stock Market Speedy said: “Following recent press comment, Speedy confirms that it is not considering a combination with HSS.”

Sky claimed the deal had the backing of a number of the largest shareholders in both companies, which have been hit by a string of profit warnings during the course of this year.

HSS floated on the stock market earlier this year, with the shares being sold for 210p.
However, a number of profit alerts and the exit of its long-serving chief executive, Chris Davies, has sent its value plummetting.  It is now trading at roughly 51p, giving it a market value of just £80m.

Meanwhile, larger rival Speedy Hire has seen its shares lose more than half their value over the last 12 months, and it now has a market capitalisation of just over £180m.

It has also axed its chief executive and blamed its woes on a range of issues, including  a lack of equipment, disruption caused by poor IT systems and a mistaken focus on larger clients at the expense of smaller ones.