Partner Article

Ashstead Group buy rental equipment provider for £28m

Ashtead Group, which owns the Warrington-based A-Plant, has acquired Chesterfield’s Accession Group Limited for £28m.

The acquisition includes Accession’s principal trading subsidiary Eve Trakway, the rental equipment provider. Private equity investor LDC’s Leeds office has been afforded an exit from Eve Trakway through the move.

Accession Group also has offices in Lanark and Wimbledon, and supplies roadways, footpaths, bridges, crowd control barriers and ground protection systems for major rail, communications and utilities infrastructure projects and high-profile outdoor events.

Eve Trakway will join Ashstead Group’s A-Plant, the UK’s second largest equipment rental company with 110 locations.

LDC increased Eve Trakway’s revenues by 58% to £26m in the financial year ended March 2012, fuelled by development of the company’s products and services, as well as bolt-on acquisitions of fencing supplier, Vincehire; mobile lighting tower providers, Brightlights; and traffic control and management business ATM Traffic Solutions.

Last year, LDC invested over £280 million of equity across 18 new businesses and £86 million of additional equity supporting portfolio company acquisitions.

So far this year, the Yorkshire and North East team invested in NRS Healthcare, the outsourced provider of specialist community healthcare equipment and services, and exited its investment in international engineering group MB Aerospace through a secondary buyout to US based Arlington Capital Partners.

The shareholders and LDC were advised by David Hardless and Ian Hale from Park Place Corporate Finance. The Leeds office of Squire Sanders advised the shareholders on this transaction and the team was led by Corporate Partner Paul Mann who was assisted by Craig Pettit. Tax advice was provided by Partner Peter Morley.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Tom Keighley .