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Vp acquires Irish plant hire

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Specialist equipment rental business Vp has acquired a majority interest in Irish plant hire Charlieville Hire and Plafortm Ltd (“CPH”).

Credit: Jonny Caspari / Unsplash

Vp has acquired 90 per cent of shares in the family-owned specialist powered access company based near Cork, with the remaining 10 per cent to be acquired over a three-year period.

The acquisition cost included an initial cash payment of €12.1 million.

Subject to business performance against stretching EBTIDA targets, a further maximum deferred and earn out payment of €21.7 million may be payable across the second and third anniversaries of the acquisition

The acquisition will be funded from the Group’s existing debt and cash resolves.

Key CPH senior management are set to retain a minority interest and remain committed to the business.

CPH principally services pharma, renewables, technology and food ingredient sectors, with a staff of thirty employees and with a portfolio of majority zero emissions machinery.

For the year ended 31 December 2023, CPH posted revenue of €9.5 million, generating a pre-tax profit of €2.3 million

Following completion of the acquisition, the Group’s net debt /adjusted EBITDA is set to remain below 2x.

This comes after a Vp posted their annual result for the year ended 31 March 2024, which saw revenue dip from £371.5 million in 2023 to £368.7 million, generating a pre-tax profit of £2.8 million (2023: £30.7 million).

In June 2024, Vp set out an updated strategy to focus on growing its specialist capabilities in the equipment rental market. 

The Vp Board hopes the acquisition will offer clear strategic benefits as well as providing a growth opportunity and a platform for further expansion into the Irish market.

Anna Bielby, chief executive of Vp, said: “This acquisition is exactly in line with our renewed strategic focus on building our highly differentiated, specialist customer offering. 

“CPH brings to the Group a market-leading powered access fleet in a growing Irish market while complementing our existing divisions. 

“The CPH management team has a track record of successfully growing the business and, with the opportunities that exist in the Irish market, we believe they are well placed for further expansion in the future.”

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