EQUIPMENT hire specialist Vp has bought a safety equipment rental company in a £3.95m deal.
The Harrogate group has taken over Test & Measurement Group, which has two sites in Knowsley, near Liverpool, and Aberdeen.
Jeremy Pilkington, chairman of Vp, said the acquisition “is complementary to our well established, market leading, activities in the safety equipment rental sector”.
Test & Measurement has been in business for 15 years and provides specialist electrical instrumentation and environmental test equipment to the utilities, electrical engineering and oil and gas sectors across the UK.
It will become part of Vp’s specialist safety, survey and communications equipment rental business, ESS Safeforce, which is part of the Hire Station division.
Earlier this year, Vp hailed “a record breaking year” as it reported revenues were up 12% in the year to March, to £205.6m, while pre-tax profits, before amortisation, jumped 33% – twice last year’s “significant” increase – to £26.8m.
The company’s performance has been well-received by the markets this year, with its shares increasing in value by 40% between February and June, peaking at 816p. Although it has since given back some of those gains, its shares closed last night at 740p, valuing the company at £300m.
Corporate partner Hannah Kendrick, and associate Carly Gulliver from Squire Patton Boggs in Leeds acted for Vp.
HRC Law’s team of Mark Traynor, Helen Marsh and Sherrelle Scott provided legal advice and Dave Hilton of Mazars provided corporate finance advice to the sellers.
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