VP hat-trick of deals
HARROGATE-BASED equipment hire business Vp has today bought three businesses for a combined £1.3m.
The group's tool hire subsidiary Hire Station, has paid £750,000 for Yorkshire-based Able Safety. Founded in 2001, Able provides safety equipment rental, service and sales and confined space training from its base in Knottingley.
Able, which had revenues of £500,000 in the year to August 31, will be integrated with Hire Station's rental operation ESS Safeforce.
Vp has also bought two Irish firms, Underground Safety Services (USS) and Pipe Testing Accessories (PTA) for a combined figure of 800,000 euros (£572,000).
The businesses, which operate from Tullamore, Republic of Ireland, provide shoring and pipe-stopper services to the Irish construction and civil engineering markets.
USS and PTA, which were acquired by Vp's Irish subsidiary, Vp Equipment Rental, will be integrated within the Groundforce division of Vp, which already offers these services to the UK market. The combined revenue of the two businesses was 600,000 euros (£429,000) for the year to January 31, 2007.
Jeremy Pilkington, chairman of Vp, commented: “The acquisitions of USS and PTA complement the strategic expansion of our Groundforce business into the Republic of Ireland and will help further support the provision of Groundforce's specialist shoring and associated services to our customer base.
“We are also very pleased to acquire the Able business which will further consolidate our ESS Safeforce safety rental business' position as leader in this
market.'
