The Competition & Markets Authority has given unconditional clearance for Nationwide Platforms, a UK subsidiary of France’s Loxam Group, to acquire UK Platforms Ltd from hire company HSS.
The £60.5m deal can now proceed, enabling HSS to reduce debt and concentrate on its core business of tool hire. HSS said that it expects the transaction to complete in early 2019.
The sale means that UK Platforms returns to French ownership. HSS bought the powered access rental business in 2013 from French manufacturer Haulotte. It has a fleet of around 3,000 platforms and operates from 12 branches.
Nationwide Platforms is the UK’s largest mobile elevating work platform (MEWP) hire company with more than 12,000 machines in its fleet. It was taken over by French rental giant Loxam last year.
