September 18, 2020
The British spider crane rental company A Mini Crane Hire was acquired by entrepreneur Mark Davenport from owners Pete Piekarus and Anthony Travis as part of a so-called seven-figure deal.
A Mini Crane Hire was founded in 2009 and operates a fleet of around 90 machines, including 50 spider cranes, a mini crawler and two ton pick & carry cranes. This is along with glass hand tools, robots and other equipment from locations in London and Liverpool with 33 employees. According to the latest information, the balance sheet total was GBP 2.74 million – or GBP 1.34 million net.
Davenport, a qualified engineer, was named director of the company earlier this year and has ambitious growth plans for the next four to five years. These include expanding operations – possibly with additional branches – establishing a strong management team and investing £ 1.5m in renovating the existing fleet. This is already underway while new equipment is being rolled out at the same time, including nine electric spider cranes.
The new owner of a Mini Crane Hire, Mark Davenport (L), with retired owner Peter Piekarus
Davenport said, “The company has struggled through the lockdown. Sales are now back where they should be and annual sales are still expected to be above £ 5m. The company has hired two new highly qualified sales people and a new manager for the Liverpool depot. “
“A mini crane rental company is a very capable company with a good reputation in the market. We have a highly skilled, experienced and knowledgeable team who are passionate about safety, customer service and getting the job done. My vision is to build on Further strengthen the team, invest in sales and marketing communications, expand the fleet, and improve our information flow and communications to drive growth.
“We remain fully committed to sustainability and will continue to make incremental changes that will benefit our community and the planet. With that in mind, we will add nine new electrically powered cranes and our first electric car to the fleet later this year For one of our new salespeople. As part of this investment, we are also in the process of renovating the existing fleet to ensure we maintain the high standards of customer service we are known for. 2021 will be very interesting.
Prior to the acquisition, Davenport owned and managed the polyethylene converter Flextex, having joined the company in 2008 and bought it from the founders the following year. Last year he sold the company to the two most important managers as part of a management buy-out deal.
He also spent a year as managing director of SGB Rovacabin after joining the company in 2007 from a position similar to Arquest, which produces its own brand of diapers for supermarkets
