Breaking: Turnaround plan delivers £14.4m profit for Merseyside’s Speedy Hire

Merseyside tool and plant hire company Speedy Hire Plc has achieved double-digit profit growth after senior management implemented a turnaround plan to improve performance.

The Newton Le Willows-based firm reported a pre-tax loss of £57.6m last year, but in the 12 months to March 31 2017 that figure was £14.4m in profit.

Revenues, meanwhile, rose by 12.2% year on year to £369.4m.

Speedy also managed to reduce its net debt during the period, slashing the amount owed by over £31m to £71.4m.

After identifying the issues affecting the business’ financial position in the 2015/16 year, management looked to improve engineering efficiency, address equipment availability and restructure the sales teams to target both large and SME customers.

Bosses also invested in upgrades to Speedy’s IT and management information systems.

Chief executive Russell Down said of the results: “These results demonstrate the success of our turnaround plan with significant improvements across all financial and operational performance measures.

“Whilst we have made a solid start to the year, the market remains competitive.”

He continued: “With the business now stabilised and a strong balance sheet, we are well positioned to take advantage of market opportunities and continue to deliver sustainable profitable growth.”

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