Event equipment hire firm caters for expansion with warehouse acquisition

One of the biggest event equipment hire specialists in the region has bought its own premises in Warwickshire to cater for its ongoing expansion.

John Truslove chartered surveyors carried out the sale of the 5,714 sq ft warehouse and office site at 1 Precision Way in Alcester to Plato Catering Hire, represented by Simon Allen Associates, for £410,000.

Launched in 1999, the company is relocating from previously rented premises in Broom, near Bidford-on-Avon.

Plato Catering Hire specialises in the hire of catering equipment, linen and furniture for events, delivering over a million items and more than 14 miles of table cloth a year throughout Warwickshire, Worcestershire, Gloucestershire, Oxfordshire, Staffordshire, Derbyshire and the West Midlands.

Stuart Slaughter, who co-owns Plato Catering Hire with his wife Lynn, said the company had taken on an extra employee this year to take staff numbers to eight full-timers, with another five or six agency staff working seasonally.

He said: “We needed to buy the Alcester property because our lease in Broom was coming to an end, and it coincided with the need for more space to accommodate our growing business.

“Whether you’re organising a dinner party for 10, a wedding for 200 or corporate hospitality for 3,000 you need an award-winning catering equipment hire company that can deliver, collect and wash up all the plates, glasses, cutlery, linen and furniture, so you can focus on your job.

“That’s what we’ve been successfully doing for 19 years, and the move to Alcester is all part of our vision to become the most successful service provider in the event hire industry.”

Ben Truslove, a director at John Truslove, said: “Plato Catering Hire is an impressive business and we were delighted to help them find a new home for their ongoing expansion.

“Precision Way in Alcester is a high-quality location, benefiting from great access to the Midlands motorway network which is obviously such an important factor for the company’s operational footprint.”