National plant hirer Morris Leslie Plant Hire Ltd has continued to expand its fleet and depot network with the acquisition of Surrey based Chertsey Plant Hire. 5 years, to the very week, since the company purchased 3 depots from Ambrose Plant Hire.
The acquisition is part of Morris Leslie’s continued growth strategy to offer local service on a national basis and follows the purchase of 4 Hewden sites at the start of 2017 increasing their national network to 13 depots. The company, a Profit Track 100 firm, which principally hires telehandlers, excavators, dumpers, rollers and access equipment and it has seen its plant hire fleet grow from 500 units to 5000 in just 5 years.
Chertsey Plant Hire was a natural choice for Morris Leslie as it strengthens its presence in the south east and the two companies have excellent synergies, both having been established in the 1970s and have built their strong industry reputations for possessing modern plant fleets, backed by great customer service and support.
Graham Ogilvie, Managing Director, of Morris Leslie Plant Hire, said on completion of the deal that, “We are delighted with the purchase as Chertsey are a long established and well-respected industry name. The move consolidates our position as one of the leading hirers in the country, expanding the core fleet by a further 500 assets, 250 of which are telehandlers, and adds another great location to our national footprint. Chertsey’s fleet is younger than industry norms but over the coming months there are plans to further refresh their fleet in line with our overall profile which sees an average age of below 2 years.”
Following the acquisition, Morris Leslie’s overall fleet has grown to over 5000 high quality machines. They already have the fastest growing telehandler fleet in the UK and with this purchase it will see the number of telehandlers available to Morris Leslie customers grow to over 2000, all from JCB and Manitou.
Chertsey’s, Managing Director, Gary Balle said, “I am relishing the opportunity to work with the new management and pleased to see that Morris Leslie already have an investment plan in place to replace and expand our fleet. We are confident that this will enhance our existing high-quality fleet and Morris Leslie’s larger infrastructure will allow us to support our customer’s nationally.”
