26.08.2015

Fork Rent acquired

Fork Rent, the UKs largest specialist telehandler rental company has been acquired by private equity firms Searchlight Capital Partners Duke Street and will be merged with another recent acquisition One Call Plant Hire – with ex Speedy chief executive Steve Corcoran leading the buy out and the combined business.

Ipswich-based Fork Rent is currently owned by brother and sister team Guy and Trudi Nichols and employs around 110 staff, while One Call, which is more of a excavator rental business, employs around 120.

Fork Rent was founded in 1972 as Guy’s Hire, building on a truck rental business operated by his father Percy Nicholls which developed into Trucks R Us and Tippers R Us. The brother and sister team took over the entire business when he died around 17 years ago. The two of them will retain those parts of the business. Fork Rent managing director Elaine Miller is expected to stay with the business.
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(L-R) Fork Rent owners Guy and Trudi Nicholls with Elaine Miller, Fork Rent’s operations director.

The company had revenues last year in the region of £33.5 million, with a profit of almost £7 million. The revenue numbers are not far off that of One Call, thus creating a combined business with £70 million sales. The company runs a fleet of 2,750 telehandlers, according to the latest Cranes & Access Top 30 rental companies data. As far as we understand the name for the combined business has not yet been agreed. It is expected that the deal will complete next week and a formal statement is expected then.

Guy Nicholls said: “After 40 years Forkrent is no longer mine. I wish the new owners the best of success for the future. I would like to thank my former employees and work colleagues for helping build such a great company. My father started it all of course and gave us an incredible education in business”.