Briggs Equipment expands in Republic of Ireland

Briggs Equipment in Ireland has acquired Laois Hire Services from HSS Hire for £11.2 million.

Laois, based in Portlaoise, west of Dublin, has six locations in the Republic of Ireland and reported revenues of around £13 million in 2019.

At the same time, Briggs has acquired the Republic of Ireland business of Baloo Hire. Briggs already owns Baloo’s Northern Ireland business, which is acquired in 2019.

The deals represent a continued investment in rental and construction equipment by Briggs, which is part of the wider Briggs Equipment Group based in the US, owned by Sammons Enterprises, Inc. It also has operations in the UK.

Laois Hire and Balloo Hire will continue trading under their own names.

Peter Jones, Briggs Equipment’s Group Managing Director, said; “We are delighted to have completed the acquisition of both Laois Hire and Balloo Hire Limited.

“Both businesses have a strong track record of delivering value within the Irish plant hire market and we’re confident that with the backing and support of the Briggs Equipment Group, the businesses will go from strength to strength.

“Over recent years, we have worked hard to build our presence within Ireland’s materials handling sector and we’ve had good success in this area. These acquisitions enable us to further diversify our offering and provide a comprehensive and cohesive proposition that now includes plant hire across the entire island of Ireland.

“Despite the challenges that the Coronavirus pandemic has presented over the past year, we are committed to pushing forward with our business development and acquisition strategy. This acquisition demonstrates the robustness of our business and our ongoing commitment to strengthening our market position.”

HSS said that as part of the sale of Laois it had entered into a commercial agreement with Briggs for the cross hire of equipment “to ensure the broadest possible distribution of, and customer access to, the parties existing fleets.”