REG - Speedy Hire PLC - Final Results
18/06/2025 07:02
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RNS Number : 2722N Speedy Hire PLC 18 June 2025
Speedy Hire
Plc
("Speedy Hire", "the Company" or "the Group")
18 June 2025
Audited results for the year ended 31 March 2025
Speedy Hire Plc, the UK and Ireland's leading provider of tools, specialist
equipment and services, announces its audited results for the year ended 31
March 2025.
Commenting on the results Dan Evans, Chief Executive, said:
"Despite the macro-economic challenges, we have remained committed to, and in
parts accelerated, the implementation of our Velocity strategy during its
'Enable' phase, which is setting the foundation for growth opportunities for
the benefit of our customers and people, whilst maintaining shareholder
returns. Our transformation is key to our business, ensuring service
excellence, innovation and ease of transacting for our customers, from an
efficient and systems driven operating model.
We are focused on what we can control, and we will continue to manage our cost
base and balance our investment decisions through the economic cycle. We are
well positioned to capitalise on end market recovery.
We anticipate seeing the benefit from a promising pipeline of growth
opportunities with new and existing customers, alongside increased commitment
and clarity on government spending. The Board is confident of achieving its
full year expectations."
Financial Highlights
Year ended Year ended Change
31 March 2025 31 March 2024
(£m) (£m)
Revenue 416.6 421.5 (1.2)%
Adjusted EBITDA(1) 97.1 96.8 0.3%
Adjusted profit before tax(1) 8.7 14.7 £(6.0)m
Adjusted earnings per share (pence)(2) 1.41 2.35 (0.94)p
Operating profit 13.4 14.9 £(1.5)m
(Loss)/profit before tax (1.5) 5.1 £(6.6)m
Basic (loss)/earnings per share (pence)(2) (0.24) 0.59 (0.83)p
Underlying operating cash flow(6) 91.8 100.2 £(8.4)m
Free cash flow(3) 0.8 23.5 £(22.7)m
Net debt(4) 113.1 101.3 £11.8m
Dividend per share 2.60 2.60 -
· Revenue of £416.6m (FY2024: £421.5m)
o Revenue (excluding fuel) increased by 1.3% to £386.4m
o Hire up 0.6% and Services (excluding fuel) up 4.5% versus FY2024
o Lloyds British, our testing, inspection and certification business,
achieved growth of 5.8%
o Challenging market conditions with delays in government spending impacting
major infrastructure projects, although we are taking market share(7)
o Hire revenue with our National customers traded flat, with growth in our
Regional customers
o Growth in Trade and Retail, albeit slower than anticipated after securing
new relationships
· Adjusted EBITDA(1) grew marginally year on year with a slight
margin improvement to 23.3% (FY2024: 23.0%), reflecting increased gross margin
and disciplined cost control
· Adjusted PBT(1) declined to £8.7m (FY2024: £14.7m), impacted by
higher interest costs and a lower contribution of £1.0m (FY2024: £2.9m) from
our Kazakhstan joint venture, as contracts completed. Reported loss before tax
of £1.5m (FY2024: £5.1m profit)
· Adjusted EPS(2) was 1.41pps (FY2024: 2.35pps)
· Underlying operating cash flow(6) was £91.8m, representing 94.5%
conversion from EBITDA (FY2024: £100.2m, 103.5%)
· Free cash flow(3) remains a key performance indicator for the
Group, with the year on year decrease reflecting lower underlying cash flow
and investment in our hire fleet to support contract growth (up £8.7m versus
FY2024), and investment in transformation
· Net debt(4) at £113.1m (FY2024: £101.3m), leverage(5) of 1.9x
o After the year end, the Group refinanced its borrowings, securing new
facilities of £225m
· Updated capital allocation policy to align with the Group's
growth ambitions, balancing investment and sustainable returns, adopting a
target leverage(5) range of 1.0 - 2.0x
· Proposed final dividend of 1.80pps, resulting in full year
dividend of 2.60pps (FY2024: 2.60pps)
Velocity update
· We remain committed to delivering on our ambitious growth
strategy, continuing to invest in our hire fleet and the transformation of our
business, positioning the Group for growth
· Continued to win and extend several multi-year contracts and
maintain a promising pipeline
· During FY2025 we have continued to develop our digital
capabilities to support our commitment to providing excellent customer service
o System led logistics has been trialled and is being rolled out across the
business in FY2026
o Continued work with PEAK AI to drive operational efficiency and inform
pricing and asset holding decisions
· Maintained our position as an industry leader in ESG and
continued to invest in the sustainability of our hire fleet and operations
· Launch of a new specialist business during FY2026; Temporary Site
Solutions ("TSS")
Enquiries:
Speedy Hire Plc
Tel: 01942 720 000
Dan Evans, Chief Executive
Paul Rayner, Chief Financial Officer
Teneo
Tel: 020 7427 5494
Jo Blackshaw
Giles Kernick
Analyst and investor presentations
Dan Evans, CEO, and Paul Rayner, CFO, will host a presentation and Q&A for
analysts today at 9.30am at Peel Hunt LLP, 100 Liverpool St, London EC2M 2AT.
For further information please contact SpeedyHire@teneo.com
(mailto:SpeedyHire@teneo.com)
Management will also be hosting an Investor Presentation and Q&A with
Equity Development. The online event will be hosted by Dan Evans, CEO, and
Paul Rayner, CFO, and will begin at 11.30am on Wednesday 25th June. The
registration link to sign up for the webinar is:
https://www.equitydevelopment.co.uk/news-and-events/speedyhire-investor-presentation-25june2025
(https://www.equitydevelopment.co.uk/news-and-events/speedyhire-investor-presentation-25june2025)
Notes:
Explanatory notes:
The Group believes that the non-GAAP performance measures presented in this
announcement provide valuable additional information
for readers. Further details can be found in notes 6, 8 and 12.
(1) See note 8.
(2) See note 6.
(3) Free cash flow: Net cash flow before movement in borrowings, merger and
acquisition activity and returns to shareholders.
(4) See note 12. This metric excludes lease liabilities.
(5) Leverage: Net debt(4) to EBITDA(1). This metric excludes the impact of
IFRS 16.
(6) Underlying operating cash flow: Cash generated from operations before
changes in hire fleet and non-underlying items.
(7) Source: ONS, Construction Products Association
Inside Information: This announcement contains inside information.
Forward looking statements: The information in this release is based on
management information. This report includes statements that are forward
looking in nature. Forward looking statements involve known and unknown risks,
assumptions, uncertainties and other factors which may cause the actual
results, performance or achievements of the Group to be materially different
from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by
such forward looking statements. Except as required by the Listing Rules and
applicable law, the Company undertakes no obligation to update, revise or
change any forward looking statements to reflect events or developments
occurring after the date of this report.
Notes to Editors: Founded in 1977, Speedy Hire is the UK's leading provider of
tools and equipment hire services to a wide range of customers in the
construction, infrastructure, industrial, and support services markets, as
well as to local trade, and retail. The Group provides complementary support
services through the provision of training, asset management and compliance
services. Speedy is certified nationally to ISO50001, ISO9001, ISO14001,
ISO17020*, ISO27001 and ISO45001. The Group operates from 135 Service Centres
and on-site locations across the UK and Ireland and through a joint venture in
Kazakhstan. *Lloyds British National Contracts only.
Chairman's statement
Overview
The results we are reporting today are against a backdrop of continuingly
challenging markets affected by macro-economic factors and government policy
decisions. These challenges only serve to underpin the Board's commitment to
our Velocity transformation strategy which is approaching the end its 'Enable'
phase. We are well positioned to capitalise on end markets recovery and our
progress to date, including the continuing investment in innovative, market
leading sustainable products has allowed the business to win a number of
multi-year contracts which will positively impact performance going forward.
The recently announced refinancing of debt facilities provides the flexibility
and financial resources to support this investment.
Results
Group revenue decreased by 1.2% to £416.6m (FY2024: £421.5m), impacted by
the challenging markets and slower than anticipated expansion of Trade and
Retail. This resulted in lower adjusted profit before tax(1) of £8.7m
(FY2024: £14.7m) due to high operational gearing and the continued investment
in people and transformation, which is providing a strong base for future
growth. The Group's market leading customer service proposition led to a
number of new contract wins and extensions during the year, including a core
hire and solutions contract with Amey which has mobilised fully in the final
months of FY2025. These wins reflect the impact of the transformation strategy
in enhancing the service proposition. The Trade and Retail proposition was
moved onto a more digitally focussed model in FY2024 and has continued to
develop on a profitable basis, having secured significant new trading
relationships where we anticipate increased revenues through FY2026 and
beyond.
The Group continues to operate internationally through a joint venture in
Kazakhstan. The share of profits decreased to £1.0m (FY2024: £2.9m)
following the completion of sizeable contracts which had generated strong
returns over the years. We anticipate this having an ongoing impact into
FY2026 but our engagement with our joint venture partner indicates good
contract opportunities which give an encouraging outlook for future years in
this geography.
We have invested £57.5m (FY2024: £42.5m) in our hire fleet during the year
to deliver on the new contract wins and the pipeline of opportunities. Around
c.70% of this investment has been in sustainable products to meet the demands
of our customers. The scale of this investment allows the business to obtain
good commercial terms from manufacturers and maintains a fleet age profile
which allows flexibility to manage investment needs through the economic
cycle.
Funding
After the year end the Group refinanced its borrowings, replacing its existing
£180m asset based lending facility, which was due to expire in July 2026. The
new facilities of £225m, comprising a £150m revolving credit facility
("RCF") and a £75m private placement term loan, provide the Group with
greater flexibility to support its growth strategy.
Capital allocation and dividend
The Board has taken the opportunity to review the capital allocation policy to
ensure that it supports our strategic objectives. Our disciplined approach to
capital allocation is intended to maintain a balance between the need for
investment in the business and sustainable returns to shareholders. It is
intended to fund the investment required in the business through the cycle
using debt facilities. The Board has decided to operate within a target
leverage(5) range of between 1.0x and 2.0x over the business cycle, but may
move outside this where circumstances warrant, for example if a significant
new contract win meant a short-term need for additional investment in hire
equipment. The age profile of the fleet and the ability to manage the timing
of investment has proven in the past the ability to flex capital expenditure
in line with the economic cycle.
The Board also recognises the need for value creation and sustainable returns
for shareholders. The business has demonstrated strong underlying operating
cash flow(6) historically and this supported the maintenance of the dividend
last year. While in FY2025 the Group's free cash flow(3) has been impacted by
the additional fleet investment for new contract wins, and the costs of the
transformation programme, underlying operating cash flow(6) remains strong and
the Board is confident in the business' prospects for the future. In light of
this the Board has decided to maintain the dividend for FY2025 at the same
level as last year and set a new policy where it will target to grow the
dividend from this base in line with future earnings growth.
As a result, the Board is recommending payment of a final dividend of 1.80
pence per share bringing the total dividend to 2.60 pence per share.
Board and people
Rob Barclay will step down as a Non-Executive Director at the AGM, having
joined the Board in 2015. During his time on the Board, Rob has chaired the
Remuneration and Sustainability Committees and has undertaken the role of
Designated People Director. On behalf of the Board, I would like to thank Rob
for his commitment and contribution to the Board throughout his tenure and
wish him well for the future. It has been decided that we will not recruit a
replacement at this stage and maintain a smaller Board ahead of further steps
to refresh the Board in the normal course. It is expected that David Garman
will step down from the Board later in 2026 and, in anticipation of this
change, Rhian Bartlett will assume the role of Senior Independent Director
following the AGM this year.
On behalf of the Board and personally, I would like to take this opportunity
to thank each and every one of my colleagues for their continuing commitment
and dedication to supporting the business.
Future
In spite of challenging end markets we have continued to invest in our
transformation programme and our new fleet and have been rewarded with a
number of significant multi-year contract wins which will impact FY2026 and
beyond. We have ambitious targets for future growth under our Velocity
Strategy and expect to generate returns from the investment made over the last
two years as markets recover. We have a business model that remains resilient
through the cycle and look forward with confidence to the year ahead.
David Shearer
Chairman
Chief Executive's statement
Results
I present our results for the financial year ended 31 March 2025, that
demonstrate a resilient performance as we continue to execute our
transformative growth strategy, Velocity, despite navigating the widely
reported challenging market conditions across the UK, Ireland and
internationally.
Revenue declined by 1.2% to £416.6m (FY2024: £421.5m). Adjusted EBITDA(1)
was £97.1m (FY2024: £96.8m). Adjusted earnings per share(2) were 1.41 pence
(FY2024: 2.35 pence). Profit before tax after non-underlying items decreased
to a loss of £1.5m (FY2024: £5.1m profit).
In the UK and Ireland, year-on-year hire revenue from our National customers
remained flat, with rate increases offsetting some volume decline. Overall
hire revenue increased by 0.6% year on year, driven by increased and
recovering revenues from our Regional customers, with Trade and Retail also
demonstrating an improved performance, albeit behind our initial expectations.
Services revenue excluding fuel increased by 4.5% year on year. Our Training
services and Customer Solutions division - which provides site management and
rehire services - performed well, with marginal increases in revenue and our
Lloyds British business providing testing, inspection and certification
services, demonstrated a revenue increase of 5.8% year-on-year. Fuel revenues
declined by 24.9%, as pass-through revenues were impacted by the effect of a
decrease in wholesale fuel prices, however margins were maintained. This
resulted in an overall reduction in services revenue of 2.8%.
During the year we have continued to monitor our pricing model and have
implemented price increases to offset inflationary cost pressures on both
overheads and new equipment purchases. This has included a focus on our AI
workstreams and its ability to improve price and margin in various areas of
the business. Our pricing strategy ensures we can continue to provide
customers the very best value for the high-quality innovative products they
demand, enabling the successful completion of their projects.
Itemised asset utilisation increased to 53.9% (FY2024: 52.4%), reflecting the
targeted investment in the Group's hire fleet to support our strong pipeline
of opportunities and contract wins.
Our joint venture in Kazakhstan has experienced a significant downturn in
performance due to the conclusion of major contracts. We anticipate this
having an ongoing impact into FY2026, however, there are opportunities which
give confidence for future growth for following years.
Market overview
Whilst the macro-economic environment has remained challenging during the
year, with delays in government spending across a number of key sectors and
projects, there are positive growth opportunities for the Group as we go into
FY2026 and beyond, with a promising pipeline of new and existing customers who
should benefit from increased government and private sector spending on
infrastructure and construction projects.
National customers
We serve thousands of customers in the UK and Ireland, including a significant
number of the UK's 100 largest contractors(1a), with our National customers
collectively accounting for 47% of our revenue, secured on medium to long term
major projects in infrastructure, construction and energy markets. These
include investment in gas, hydrogen, and utility network infrastructure,
nuclear new build and decommissioning work, major highways projects, as well
as continued investment in HS2 and the planned TransPennine Rail Upgrade
announced in March 2025. Our Tier 1 customers servicing these multi-billion
pound investments continue to demand sustainable solutions that we provide
through innovative products and specialist expertise.
During the year we extended and secured several new, multi-year contracts with
National customers and maintain a promising pipeline into FY2026. We have also
completed the mobilisation of our contract with Amey announced in the prior
year, which is trading in line with our expectations.
Regional customers
We serve Regional customers through our Regional Account Management team
located across the UK and Ireland, who serve customers operating in a diverse
range of sectors. Many of these customers continue to be impacted negatively
by the challenging economic environment, however signs of recovery have been
seen in FY2025 following increased volume sales in this customer segment.
Trade and Retail
We serve thousands of Trade and Retail customers through our national network
of Service Centres, by phone, online through our click and collect service,
and through trading partnerships. Our partnership with B&Q, which enables
customers to hire our products seamlessly as part of their wider transaction
at the B&Q tills, as well as online through B&Q's website diy.com and
tradepoint.co.uk, is performing satisfactorily and with positive momentum.
Additionally, during the year we entered into a new fulfilment agreement with
another leading UK brand in the Trade space, building on our existing
portfolio. This will enable us to capitalise on future opportunities presented
by this valuable market segment.
In line with our Velocity growth strategy, we will continue to target our
sales and business development efforts on the areas of greatest opportunity
for growth, focusing on infrastructure and utilities, power and energy, built
environment and defence.
Strategy review
During FY2023 we developed and launched Velocity, a five-year strategy
designed to deliver sustainable growth through increasing revenue and
improving margins, along with a clear focus on measurable medium and long-term
growth and performance objectives. The strategy is underpinned by our
transformation plan which has progressed significantly during the year,
through advancing foundational improvements across customer experience,
innovation, technology, operational efficiency, sustainability and our People
First approach. Our transformation progress is forming the bedrock for the
Group to take advantage of the pipeline of opportunities and enabling us to
deliver accelerated sustainable growth in the medium term.
FY2026 sees the launch of a new specialist business, Temporary Site Solutions
("TSS"). Building on the focus of growth of specialist products and services
as one of our Velocity growth engines, we are pleased to launch this new
business having listened to what our customers would like to see additionally
provided by Speedy Hire. Reporting through our existing hire structure, the
business will focus on growth in products such as fencing, traffic control and
site security, ground protection and temporary road and trackway. We will be
optimising the full service to deliver, manage and install these solutions for
our customers, ensuring growth of service revenue for Speedy Hire.
Customer experience and innovation
As part of our aim to transform how we do business and become the easiest
business to deal with for customers, during the year we have been developing a
new website platform powered by Optimizely; one of the world's leading AI
Content Management System provider. The new platform, which will launch during
FY2026, will revolutionise our digital offering and aim to drive significant
percentage increases in online revenue. In advance of this, during FY2025 we
published new non-transactional sections on the new website platform including
our Investor hub, ESG hub, and Careers hub, whilst simultaneously running our
existing transactional site as we manage a seamless full switch-over.
Our innovative products and services are utilised on thousands of sites across
the UK, including major government projects within rail, water, clean energy
(including nuclear), defence, highways, aviation and housebuilding. We also
service trade professionals and retail DIY, supporting the prosperity of
business and enabling projects large and small for people across the UK and
Ireland.
During FY2025 we introduced a new lighting solution designed specifically for
the rail market. The lighting solution was launched at an innovative event
delivered in-house, providing an immersive customer experience featuring
hands-on product demonstrations. The event brought together suppliers,
industry leaders, buyers, and decision-makers from across the rail industry,
reinforcing our reputation for being a conduit for innovation within this
valuable infrastructure community and leading to direct orders of the lighting
solution from some of our largest customers.
In the prior year, we acquired sustainable power solutions specialist, Green
Power Hire Limited to supply Battery Storage Units to the UK rental market,
and entered into a Joint Venture with AFC Energy plc to provide hydrogen power
generation to our customers. During FY2025 we have mobilised these products
onto customer sites, enabling them to achieve both financial and environmental
savings compared to alternative systems available, signalling the growing
demand for zero emission power solutions.
Technology and operational efficiency
Our transformation programme is leveraging technology and data to drive
simplicity and efficiency to support sustainable profitable growth. We
continue to work with our strategic partner PeakAI, focusing on a range of AI
driven initiatives to drive operational efficiency including, amongst other
areas, inventory forecasting to ensure we minimise product downtime and
maximise product utilisation and availability, along with pricing optimisation
and simplicity.
During the year we successfully trialled a new system-led approach to our
logistical operations using the logistics management system Openfleet. This
system optimises our product distribution route planning across our
engineering and Service Centre network, reducing unplanned mileage, transport
costs, effort and waste as well as our carbon footprint. Furthermore, it will
provide greater visibility and enhance tracking to our customers. During
FY2026 we are rolling out the technology across the business by integrating
Openfleet into our existing systems and processes.
We implemented Power BI into the business; an advanced intelligence and data
visualisation tool developed by Microsoft. It connects various data sources,
transforming and cleaning data, to create interactive visualisations and
reports that enable management to easily analyse data and make well-informed
business decisions that include optimisation of our assets and logistics. This
means we can make all of the data, key to demonstrating our performance to
customers, available in one place. We are also using Power BI to provide our
customers with a validated carbon reporting tool to help them make the right
carbon choices when it comes to asset selection. The tool displays a carbon
dashboard that quantifies and reports the carbon emissions for both hire
equipment and transport. These innovations in technology and service continue
to differentiate and add value to our customer proposition.
Within our Lloyds British business that provides specialist test, inspection
and certification ("TIC") services, we launched a new system; Motion Kinetic.
The system enables us to streamline our inspection procedures more
efficiently, generating TIC reports, improve data accuracy, and automate
renewal testing alerts. This ensures that our engineers can take advantage of
opportunities to retain and grow our customer base in the TIC marketplace,
whilst resulting in a better and safer customer experience.
Sustainability
We are recognised as a UK leading business in commercially sustainable
solutions, resulting in multiple awards and ESG ratings, including obtaining
ISS ESG Prime Status and the EcoVadis Platinum award, placing us in the top 1%
of companies globally for sustainability. In addition, we achieved an A- CDP
rating which places us in the Leadership band for carbon disclosures and have
been named as a Financial Times European Climate Leader for the third year
running. Our target is to become a net zero business by 2040, ten years ahead
of the UK Government's target, and we are making significant progress against
this ambitious plan.
As at the end of FY2025 our scope 1 and 2 carbon emissions in the UK and
Ireland have been reduced by 50% from the baseline of 24,266 tonnes in FY2020.
This reduction has been achieved through the continued procurement and organic
generation of renewable energy, investment into a greener property network, a
more efficient electric and hybrid vehicle fleet and the use of HVO fuel in
our larger vehicles.
In FY2025, we increased the number of electric vehicles ("EVs") in our fleet
to 311 electric vehicles, 225 electric vans and 9 HGV trucks, representing 21%
of our total commercial fleet. To further enhance the efficiency of our fleet,
we have installed solar panels on our commercial EVs to power ancillary
equipment and extend vehicle range.
Within our property network we have continued to retrofit our existing Service
Centres, collaborating with our landlords, whilst ensuring new locations are
designed for a low-carbon economy. Our approach includes the installation of
intelligent building management systems, on-site energy generation and
efficient lighting, heating and cooling systems. During the year we reduced
the number of Service Centres through the acceleration of our planned
consolidation strategy. In the process, we opened new sustainable centres in
Ashford, Birmingham, and at Sellafield, the latter being strategically located
to support the opportunities presented in the nuclear energy sector. The
energy management systems featured in these sites both optimise energy
consumption and generate clean energy.
We have a target to ensure that eco products account for 70% of our itemised
equipment fleet by 2027. To achieve this, we actively procure more
commercially sustainable assets that our customers demand including those with
solar, hybrid, electric and hydrogen technology. In FY2025, 53% of our
itemised assets in our core hire portfolio were eco and 56% of core hire
revenue was generated from eco products, compared to 51% and 55% respectively
in FY2024.
During the year we were proud to partner with The Royal Society for the
Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA) in publishing the 'Safer Lives, Stronger
Nation' report. The report identifies that preventable accidents causing
injury and deaths in the UK are on the rise, and that over the last decade
accidents have cost the UK £12 billion annually, including £6 billion in NHS
medical care and £5.9 billion in lost working days. The report calls for the
UK Government to create a National Accident Prevention Strategy - a first for
the UK, the launch of which I was proud to support in the Houses of Parliament
in September 2024, which brought together policymakers, experts, and
advocates, all united in the call for urgent action.
People First
We are transforming our business and our customers' experience by putting our
people first whilst aiming to become an employer of choice, with the ambition
of becoming a Sunday Times Best Place to Work business.
Our People First approach underpins our Velocity growth strategy; keeping our
colleagues engaged in transformation, introducing new skills, development
programmes and creating inclusive working environments. During the year, we
have continuously been upskilling our existing colleagues and attracting new
talent with new skills in areas such as digital, data science and IT
systems.
We ensure our colleagues are at the heart of everything we do, by living our
values every day. During the year we sustained our overall people engagement
score, which is two points ahead of the benchmark, and invested in more
apprenticeships and professional training for new and existing colleagues.
As a by-product of the work involved to achieve this progress, we were
delighted to have received the Investors In People Award for investment in
apprentices, whilst also being recognised by The Inspiring Workplaces Group
(https://www.inspiring-workplaces.com/iw-awards/) as a Top 50 Inspiring
Workplace in the UK and Ireland.
We have also completed the roll out of our Speedy Work Life Balance
initiative, with 85% of eligible colleagues choosing to participate; offering
them choices and flexibility in how they structure their time whilst ensuring
the right balance to continue to deliver outstanding customer service.
I would like to take this opportunity to thank all our colleagues for their
continued hard work and dedication to the business, whilst continuing to
deliver a first-class service to our customers.
Outlook
Despite the macro-economic challenges, we have remained committed to, and in
parts accelerated, the implementation of our Velocity strategy during its
'Enable' phase, which is setting the foundation for growth opportunities for
the benefit of our customers and people, whilst maintaining shareholder
returns. Our transformation is key to our business, ensuring service
excellence, innovation and ease of transacting for our customers, from an
efficient and systems driven operating model.
We are focused on what we can control, and we will continue to manage our cost
base and balance our investment decisions through the economic cycle. We are
well positioned to capitalise on end market recovery.
We anticipate seeing the benefit from a promising pipeline of growth
opportunities with new and existing customers, alongside increased commitment
and clarity on government spending. The Board is confident of achieving its
full year expectations.
Dan Evans
Chief Executive
(1a) - Source - Glenigan Limited: Top 100 contractors by value of award for
the period from April 2024 to March 2025.
Chief Financial Officer's Review
Group financial performance
Total revenue for the year ended 31 March 2025 decreased by 1.2% to £416.6m
(FY2024: £421.5m), impacted by a fall in fuel revenues, which were £30.1m
(FY2024: £40.1m). Revenue (excluding fuel) increased by 1.3% to £386.4m.
Hire rates were increased across our National customers and maintained with
our Regional customers, as we stimulate growth in what is a highly competitive
marketplace.
Gross profit was £236.1m (FY2024: £230.0m), an increase of 2.7%. Gross
margin improved to 56.7% (FY2024: 54.6%), benefitting from increased hire
rates, a fall in the proportion of lower margin fuel revenue and a slight
decrease in hire fleet depreciation.
The share of profit from the joint venture in Kazakhstan decreased to £1.0m
(FY2024: £2.9m).
Adjusted EBITDA(1) was consistent with FY2024 at £97.1m, with a slight
increase in adjusted EBITDA(1) margin to 23.3%, however adjusted profit before
taxation(1) decreased to £8.7m (FY2024: £14.7m), impacted by higher interest
costs and lower contribution from our Kazakhstan joint venture. The Group's
profits continue to be impacted by the effects of operational gearing from
limited hire revenue growth.
The Group incurred non-underlying items before taxation of £9.6m (FY2024:
£9.0m), further detail of which is given below.
After taxation, amortisation and non-underlying items, the Group made a loss
of £1.1m, compared to a profit of £2.7m in FY2024.
Revenue and margin analysis
The Group generates revenue through two categories, Hire and Services.
Revenue and margin by type Year ended Year ended Change
31 March 31 March
2025 2024
£m £m %
Hire:
Revenue 255.0 253.6 0.6%
Cost of sales (49.7) (54.6)
Gross profit 205.3 199.0 3.2%
80.5% 78.5%
Gross margin
Revenue and margin by type Year ended Year ended Change
31 March 31 March
2025 2024
£m £m %
Services:
Revenue 158.0 162.5 (2.8)%
Cost of sales (126.7) (130.9)
Gross profit 31.3 31.6 (0.9)%
19.8% 19.4%
Gross margin
Hire revenue increased by 0.6% compared to FY2024, reflecting recovery across
our Regional customers and growth in Trade and Retail, albeit, slower than
originally anticipated. Revenue from our National customers was flat year on
year, with rate increases offsetting volume decline.
During the year we secured and mobilised significant new, multi-year customer
agreements and have made the necessary investments in our hire fleet to
support these contracts. We have maintained our commitment to pricing
discipline and the contract wins and extensions are a demonstration of Speedy
Hire's overall customer proposition. These contracts, along with a substantial
pipeline of opportunity, give confidence of growth in FY2026.
Our services business has performed well during the year, although its
pass-through fuel revenue continues to be impacted by the decrease in
wholesale prices, combined with some softening in volume sales. Overall
services revenues decreased by 2.8% in the year. Excluding fuel, services
revenues increased by 4.5%, driven by growth in Customer Solutions and Lloyds
British, our testing, inspection and certification business.
Gross margin increased from 54.6% to 56.7%, primarily resulting from rate
improvements, slightly lower depreciation in hire and a lower overall
proportion of fuel sales. Hire margin increased to 80.5% (FY2024: 78.5%) and
Services margin was maintained at 19.8% (FY2024: 19.4%).
Utilisation of itemised assets was 53.9% (FY2024: 52.4%), an increase of 1.5pp
on FY2024.
Overheads
The overheads (excluding non-underlying items) disclosed in the Income
Statement can be further analysed as follows:
Year ended Year ended
31 March 31 March
2025 2024 Change
£m £m %
Distribution and administrative costs 210.5 202.9 3.8%
Amortisation - acquired intangibles (0.6) (0.6) -
Underlying Overheads 209.9 202.3 3.8%
We have maintained our focus on disciplined cost management, balanced against
the need to invest in the business to drive growth as part of our Velocity
strategy. Underlying overheads increased by £7.6m (3.8%) year on year and
this was almost wholly attributable to investment in our people (c.£5m),
represented by an average pay increase of 5%. This was partially offset by
lower utility costs in the year, driven by lower pricing and usage improvement
and the savings realised from operational and management restructuring
activities undertaken in FY2024.
We have continued to improve our overdue debt position in the year, which has
resulted in a reduction in the impairment of trade receivables to £2.6m
(FY2024: £3.2m).
Closing headcount is broadly flat year on year, however, average headcount was
2.2% lower due to restructuring activities undertaken in the prior year.
2025 2024 Change
%
Headcount at year end 3,307 3,293 0.4%
Average headcount during the year 3,335 3,409 (2.2)%
Non-underlying items
Year ended Year ended
31 March 31 March
2025 2024
£m £m
Transformation costs 6.6 3.2
Other professional and support costs 1.8 1.9
Restructuring 1.2 3.9
Total 9.6 9.0
We have continued to invest in progressing the Group's Velocity strategy. As
documented in the prior year, this programme continues to represent a
significant, incremental cost to the business during its 'Enable' phase, which
is entering its final year in FY2026. The anticipated cost (including costs
incurred in FY2024 and FY2025) of this phase is between £20m and £22m, with
£15m to £17m expected to be non-underlying. Consistent with FY2024, the
majority of costs in the year related to people and consultancy costs.
During the second half, the Group incurred professional and other support
fees, primarily in respect of the re-financing of its borrowing facilities.
These fees are not appropriate to capitalise against the new facilities and do
not represent an ongoing, underlying cost to the business due to the
infrequency of refinancing activities and the quantum of the costs incurred.
Following the autumn budget, in which increases to national insurance and the
national living wage were announced, a decision was taken to accelerate
'Future State' restructuring plans that form part of the operational model
changes in the Velocity strategy. The restructuring has resulted in the
closure of 8 depots, with a resulting reduction in headcount. Similarly, these
costs do not represent an underlying cost to the business.
Further detail on non-underlying items can be found in note 3.
Interest and banking facilities
Year ended Year ended
31 March 31 March
2025 2024
£m £m
Interest on borrowings 9.5 7.7
Interest on lease liabilities 6.4 5.0
Total 15.9 12.7
The Group's finance costs increased to £15.9m (FY2024: £12.7m) reflecting
higher average gross borrowings following the necessary investment in our hire
fleet to support contract wins, and the impact of increased interest rates on
borrowings and the extension of significant leases in the year.
Borrowings during the year were priced based on SONIA plus a variable margin,
while any unutilised commitment was charged at 35% of the applicable margin.
During the year, the margin payable on the outstanding debt fluctuated between
1.75% and 2.35% dependent on the weighting of the asset base on which
borrowings are based between receivables and plant and machinery. The
effective average margin in the period was 2.14% (FY2024: 1.92%).
The Group's financing facilities include quarterly leverage(5) and fixed
charge cover covenant tests. The Group maintained headroom against the
financial covenants throughout the year.
During the year, the Group also utilised interest rate hedges to manage
fluctuations in SONIA. The fair value of these hedges was a liability of
£0.1m at 31 March 2025 (FY2024: £0.4m asset). The hedges have varying
maturity dates, notional amounts and rates and provide the Group with
mitigation against interest rate rises. As of 31 March 2025, 35% of the
Group's net debt is hedged with a weighted average hedge rate of 4.46%.
After the year end the Group refinanced its borrowings, with new facilities of
£225m comprising a £150m revolving credit facility ("RCF") and a £75m
private placement term loan. The refinancing replaced the £180m asset based
lending facility. The RCF has a three year maturity with options to extend up
to a further two years and the private placement term loan has a seven year
maturity. The revolving credit facility is priced based on SONIA plus a
variable margin, while any unutilised commitment is charged at 35% of the
applicable margin. The price on the private placement term loan is fixed for
the duration of the facility. This new debt structure will provide the Group
with the platform and flexibility with which to support its commitment to
long-term, sustainable growth.
Taxation
The Group seeks to protect its reputation as a responsible taxpayer and adopts
an appropriate attitude to arranging its tax affairs, aiming to ensure
effective, sustainable and active management of tax matters in support of
business performance.
The tax charge for the year was a credit of £0.4m (FY2024: £2.4m charge),
with an effective tax rate of 26.7% (FY2024: 47.1%). Adjusting for the impact
of non-underlying items, the effective tax rate for FY2025 was 24.1% (FY2024:
26.5%).
Shares and earnings per share
At 31 March 2025, 516,983,637 Speedy Hire Plc ordinary shares were outstanding
(FY2024: 516,983,637), of which 55,141,657 were held in Treasury (FY2024:
55,146,281), with 1,329,911 held in the Employee Benefit Trust (FY2024:
4,106,820).
Adjusted earnings per share(2) was 1.41 pence (FY2024: 2.35 pence). Basic
earnings per share(2) was (0.24) pence (FY2024: 0.59 pence).
Balance sheet
Hire fleet additions in the year were £57.5m (FY2024: £42.5m), necessary in
supporting major contract wins and strategic growth engines. Of our investment
in hire fleet, 71% related to carbon efficient eco products (FY2024: 63%).
Expenditure on non-hire property, plant and equipment of £5.7m (FY2024:
£9.0m) represents continued investment in our properties and IT capabilities.
Total capital expenditure in FY2025 was £63.2m (FY2024: £51.5m).
Total proceeds from disposal of hire equipment were £13.2m (FY2024: £16.1m).
This was driven primarily by a one-off auction undertaken in the second half,
to dispose of older, underutilised equipment no longer forming part of the
Group's strategic direction.
In FY2026, the Group expects to invest in its hire fleet at a similar level to
FY2025 to continue to support growth ambitions.
Net property, plant and equipment (excluding IFRS 16 right of use assets) was
£243.3m as at 31 March 2025 (FY2024: £233.1m), of which equipment for hire
represents 91.4% (FY2024: 90.3%).
Intangible assets decreased marginally to £38.4m (FY2024: £39.7m), primarily
due to amortisation, offset by continuing IT development expenditure, relating
to transformation activities.
Right of use assets of £104.2m (FY2024: £97.3m) and corresponding lease
liabilities of £105.9m (FY2024: £97.6m) have increased due to extensions on
strategically important property leases and new vehicle leases to support the
move to a lower carbon fleet, which were offset in part by depot closures and
consolidations.
Gross trade receivables increased marginally to £97.9m at 31 March 2025
(FY2024: £97.3m), however the level of overdue debts has reduced reflecting
focus on working capital. Trade receivables more than 31 days overdue have
reduced 23.3% from FY2024. Bad debt and credit note provisions were £2.9m as
at 31 March 2025 (FY2024: £3.4m), equivalent to 3.0% of gross trade
receivables (FY2024: 3.5%). In setting the provisions the Directors have given
specific consideration to the impact of macro-economic uncertainties. Whilst
the Group has not experienced a significant worsening of debt collections or
debt write-offs to 31 March 2025, there remain some indications of continued
economic vulnerability and risk of insolvencies and therefore we continue to
monitor the situation closely.
Debtor days as at 31 March 2025 were 66 days (FY2024: 64 days, HY2025: 68
days). Trade payables as at 31 March 2025 were £54.1m (FY2024: £44.9m).
Creditor days were 61 days (FY2024: 40 days, HY2025: 69 days), the result of
us collaborating with suppliers to align our working capital cycle.
Cash flow and net debt
Underlying operating cash flow(6) for the year was £91.8m (FY2024: £100.2m),
representing 94.5% (FY2024: 103.5%) conversion from EBITDA. Free cash flow(3)
is a key metric for the Group and in the year was £0.8m (FY2024: £23.5m),
the result of necessary hire fleet investment to support contract growth and
transformation costs.
Net debt(4) increased by £11.8m from £101.3m at the beginning of the year to
£113.1m at 31 March 2025, due to increased hire fleet capital investment and
transformation costs. As a result, leverage(5) increased to 1.9 times (FY2024:
1.5 times). This follows the continued investment in the hire fleet and
returns to shareholders during the year. Total net debt, including lease
liabilities, was £219.0m (FY2024: £198.9m), resulting in post IFRS 16
leverage of 2.3 times (FY2024: 2.1 times).
The Group retained substantial headroom within its committed bank facility
throughout the year, with cash and undrawn facility availability of £42.0m as
at 31 March 2025 (FY2024: £56.7m).
Capital allocation policy
The Board has reviewed the capital allocation policy to ensure that it meets
our strategic objectives. We have developed a clear capital allocation
approach to ensure a balance between investment in the business for long term
sustainable success and the creation of returns to shareholders.
Our disciplined approach to capital allocation through the business cycle will
reflect the following objectives:
- Aim to use debt funding to support investment in capital
equipment. The business is currently well invested with a fleet age profile at
the younger end of our peer group in the market. This allows flexibility to
manage debt levels through any downturn in the economic cycle by reducing
capital investment and allowing the fleet age profile to lengthen, leading to
a reduction in debt without impacting our ability to meet the service needs of
customers. This flexibility was evidenced during the pandemic in FY2021.
In view of the ability to use this lever, a decision has been taken to manage
core debt levels within a target range of 1.0 to 2.0 times EBITDA through the
cycle. We will permit debt levels to move outside these parameters in
circumstances where we have specific short term investment requirements for
new growth opportunities ahead of earnings being generated. Our recently
announced replacement debt facilities offer the flexibility to support this
approach;
- We will aim to provide regular returns to shareholders through
the economic cycle by way of annual dividends. The Board will look to maintain
the dividend during any downturn in the cycle given the ability to manage cash
generation and target to grow dividends from the current base in line with
earnings growth;
- In the event of major strategic projects or opportunities such
as acquisitions we will make a specific assessment of the funding requirement
and structure of financing at that time;
- In the event of significant excess capital, the Board
will look at the appropriate way to enhance returns to shareholders.
The Board continues to believe that a strong balance sheet through the cycle
will allow the Group to take full advantage of opportunities that arise.
Dividend
The Board has proposed a final dividend for FY2025 of 1.80 pence per share
(FY2024: 1.80 pence per share) to be paid on 19 September 2025 to shareholders
on the register on 8 August 2025.
The cash cost of this dividend is expected to be c.£8.3m. This takes the
total dividend for FY2025 to 2.60 pence per share (FY2024: 2.60 pence per
share), following an interim dividend of 0.80 pence per share (FY2024: 0.80
pence per share).
A Dividend Reinvestment Plan ("DRIP") is provided by Equiniti Financial
Services Limited. The DRIP enables the Company's shareholders to elect to have
their cash dividend payments used to purchase the Company's shares. More
information can be found at http://www.shareview.co.uk/info/drip
Paul Rayner
Chief Financial Officer
Consolidated Income Statement
for the year ended 31 March 2025
Year ended 31 March 2025 Year ended 31 March 2024
───────────────────── ─────────────────────
Non-underlying items¹ Non-underlying
Underlying Underlying items¹
performance Total performance Total
Note £m £m £m £m £m £m
Revenue 2 416.6 - 416.6 421.5 - 421.5
Cost of sales (180.5) - (180.5) (191.5) - (191.5)
───── ───── ───── ───── ───── ─────
Gross profit 236.1 - 236.1 230.0 - 230.0
Distribution and administrative costs (210.5) (9.6) (220.1) (202.9) (9.0) (211.9)
Impairment losses on trade receivables (2.6) - (2.6) (3.2) - (3.2)
───── ───── ───── ───── ───── ─────
Operating profit/(loss) 23.0 (9.6) 13.4 23.9 (9.0) 14.9
Share of results of joint venture 1.0 - 1.0 2.9 - 2.9
───── ───── ───── ───── ───── ─────
Profit/(loss) from operations 24.0 (9.6) 14.4 26.8 (9.0) 17.8
Finance costs 4 (15.9) - (15.9) (12.7) - (12.7)
───── ───── ───── ───── ───── ─────
Profit/(loss) before taxation 8.1 (9.6) (1.5) 14.1 (9.0) 5.1
Taxation 5 (2.0) 2.4 0.4 (4.3) 1.9 (2.4)
───── ───── ───── ───── ───── ─────
Profit/(loss) for the financial year 6.1 (7.2) (1.1) 9.8 (7.1) 2.7
═════ ═════ ═════ ═════ ═════ ═════
Earnings per share
- Basic (pence) 6 (0.24) 0.59
- Diluted (pence) 6 (0.24) 0.58
═════ ═════
Non-GAAP performance measures
Adjusted EBITDA 8 97.1 96.8
Adjusted operating profit 8 26.8 27.5
Adjusted profit before tax 8 8.7 14.7
Adjusted earnings per share (pence) 6 1.41 2.35
═════ ═════
¹ Detail on non-underlying items is provided in note 3.
All activities in each period presented related to continuing operations.
Consolidated Statement of Comprehensive Income
for the year ended 31 March 2025
Year ended 31 March Year ended 31 March
2025 2024
£m £m
(Loss)/profit for the financial year (1.1) 2.7
───── ─────
Other comprehensive (expense)/income that may be reclassified subsequently to
the Income Statement:
- Effective portion of change in fair value of cash flow hedges (0.6) (0.1)
- Exchange difference on translation of foreign operations (0.7) (0.2)
- Tax on items 0.1 -
───── ─────
Other comprehensive expense (1.2) (0.3)
───── ─────
Total comprehensive (expense)/income for the financial year (2.3) 2.4
═════ ═════
Consolidated Balance Sheet
as at 31 March 2025
Note 31 March 31 March
2025 2024
ASSETS £m £m
Non-current assets
Intangible assets 9 38.4 39.7
Investment in joint ventures 5.7 8.8
Property, plant and equipment
Land and buildings 10 15.0 14.5
Hire equipment 10 222.4 210.6
Other 10 5.9 8.0
Right of use assets 11 104.2 97.3
───── ─────
391.6 378.9
───── ─────
Current assets
Inventories 11.2 11.8
Trade and other receivables 105.2 102.3
Cash and cash equivalents 12 2.1 4.0
Current tax asset 2.9 2.7
Derivative financial assets - 0.5
───── ─────
121.4 121.3
───── ─────
Total assets 513.0 500.2
───── ─────
LIABILITIES
Current liabilities
Bank overdraft 12 - (1.2)
Borrowings 12 (2.3) -
Lease liabilities 13 (25.0) (22.1)
Trade and other payables (106.9) (96.4)
Derivative financial liabilities (0.1) (0.1)
Provisions 14 (6.1) (8.8)
───── ─────
(140.4) (128.6)
Non-current liabilities
Borrowings 12 (112.9) (104.1)
Lease liabilities 13 (80.9) (75.5)
Provisions 14 (8.0) (7.6)
Deferred tax liability (8.6) (8.7)
───── ─────
(210.4) (195.9)
───── ─────
Total liabilities (350.8) (324.5)
───── ─────
Net assets 162.2 175.7
═════ ═════
EQUITY
Share capital 15 25.8 25.8
Share premium 1.9 1.9
Capital redemption reserve 0.7 0.7
Merger reserve 1.0 1.0
Hedging reserve (0.4) 0.2
Translation reserve (2.2) (1.5)
Retained earnings 135.4 147.6
───── ─────
Total equity 162.2 175.7
═════ ═════
Consolidated Statement of Changes in Equity
for the year ended 31 March 2025
Share Share Capital redemption reserve Merger Hedging Retained Total
capital premium reserve reserve Translation Earnings equity
reserve
Note £m £m £m £m £m £m £m £m
At 1 April 2023 25.8 1.9 0.7 1.0 0.3 (1.3) 156.2 184.6
Profit for the year - - - - - - 2.7 2.7
Other comprehensive expense - - - - (0.1) (0.2) - (0.3)
─-----─ ───── ───── ──── ───── ───── ───── ─────
Total comprehensive (expense)/income - - - - (0.1) (0.2) 2.7 2.4
Dividends 7 - - - - - - (11.8) (11.8)
Equity-settled share-based payments - - - - - - 0.5 0.5
─-----── ───── ───── ──── ───── ───── ───── ─────
At 31 March 2024 25.8 1.9 0.7 1.0 0.2 (1.5) 147.6 175.7
Loss for the year - - - - - - (1.1) (1.1)
Other comprehensive (expense)/income - - - - (0.6) (0.7) 0.1 (1.2)
─-----── ───── ───── ──── ───── ───── ───── ─────
Total comprehensive expense - - - - (0.6) (0.7) (1.0) (2.3)
Dividends 7 - - - - - - (11.8) (11.8)
Equity-settled share-based payments - - - - - - 0.6 0.6
-─── ───── ───── ──── ───── ───── ───── ─────
At 31 March 2025 25.8 1.9 0.7 1.0 (0.4) (2.2) 135.4 162.2
═══ ═════ ═════ ════ ═════ ═════ ═════ ═════
Consolidated Cash Flow Statement
for the year ended 31 March 2025
Note Year ended 31 March 2025 Year ended 31 March 2024
£m £m
Cash generated from operating activities
(Loss)/profit before tax (1.5) 5.1
Net finance costs 4 15.9 12.7
Amortisation 9 3.8 3.6
Depreciation 10,11 67.6 66.9
Non-underlying items 3 9.6 9.0
Share of profit from joint venture (1.0) (2.9)
Loss on planned disposals of hire equipment 2.7 2.4
(Profit)/loss on other disposals of hire equipment (1.2) 0.2
Loss on disposal of non-hire equipment 0.6 -
Decrease in inventories 0.7 0.9
(Increase)/decrease in trade and other receivables (2.5) 5.6
Decrease in trade and other payables* (1.2) (4.6)
(Decrease)/increase in provisions 14 (2.3) 0.8
Equity-settled share-based payments 0.6 0.5
───── ─────
Cash generated from operations before changes in hire fleet and non-underlying 91.8 100.2
items*
Cash flow relating to changes in hire fleet:
Purchase of hire equipment (50.0) (41.3)
Proceeds from planned sale of hire equipment 3.6 5.4
Proceeds from customer loss/damage of hire equipment 9.6 10.7
───── ─────
Cash outflow from changes in hire fleet (36.8) (25.2)
Cash flow relating to non-underlying items:
Non-underlying items 3 (9.6) (9.0)
Increase in non-underlying payables 3.2 3.0
───── ─────
Cash outflow from non-underlying items (6.4) (6.0)
───── ─────
Cash generated from operations 48.6 69.0
Interest paid (15.8) (12.7)
Tax received/(paid) 0.6 (3.7)
───── ─────
Net cash flow from operating activities 33.4 52.6
Cash flow used in investing activities
Purchase of non-hire property, plant and equipment (5.7) (9.0)
Capital expenditure on IT development (2.5) (1.9)
Acquisition of business - (20.2)
Proceeds from sale of non-hire property, plant and equipment - 3.0
Investment in joint venture (Speedy Hydrogen Solutions) (0.6) -
Dividends from joint venture(1) 4.2 3.9
───── ─────
Net cash flow used in investing activities (4.6) (24.2)
───── ─────
Net cash flow before financing activities 28.8 28.4
───── ─────
Cash flow from financing activities
Payments for the principal element of leases (28.6) (26.0)
Drawdown of loans 534.7 574.3
Repayment of loans (526.1) (561.9)
Proceeds received under a payables finance arrangement 7.2 -
Repayments under a payables finance arrangement (4.9) -
Dividends paid 7 (11.8) (11.8)
───── ─────
Net cash flow used in financing activities (29.5) (25.4)
───── ─────
(Decrease)/increase in cash and cash equivalents (0.7) 3.0
Net cash at the start of the financial year 12 2.8 (0.2)
───── ─────
Net cash at the end of the financial year 12 2.1 2.8
═════ ═════
Analysis of cash and cash equivalents
Cash 12 2.1 4.0
Bank overdraft 12 - (1.2)
───── ─────
2.1 2.8
═════ ═════
(1) Relates wholly to the joint venture in Kazakhstan.
* FY2024 restated to separately show the cash flow relating to non-underlying
items.
Notes to the Financial Statements
1 Accounting policies
Speedy Hire Plc is a public limited company listed on the London Stock
Exchange, incorporated and domiciled in the United Kingdom. The consolidated
Financial Statements of the Company for the year ended 31 March 2025 comprise
the Company and its subsidiaries (together referred to as the 'Group').
The financial information set out in this final results announcement does not
constitute the Group's statutory accounts for the year ended 31 March 2025 or
31 March 2024 but is derived from those accounts. Statutory accounts for
Speedy Hire Plc for the year ended 31 March 2024 have been delivered to the
Registrar of Companies, and those for the year ended 31 March 2025 will be
delivered in due course. The Group's auditor has reported on the accounts for
31 March 2025; their report was (i) qualified due to a limitation of scope in
respect of comparative opening property, plant and equipment balances, (ii)
did not include a reference to any matters to which the auditors drew
attention by way of emphasis without qualifying their report and (iii) did not
contain a statement under Section 498 (2) or (3) of the Companies Act 2006.
A copy of the full accounts will be available on the Group's corporate website
once published. Additional copies will be available on request from Speedy
Hire Plc, 16 The Parks, Newton-le-Willows, Merseyside, WA12 0JQ.
The final results have been prepared on the basis of the accounting policies
set out in the Group's annual report and accounts for the year ended 31 March
2025 which, unless otherwise stated, have been applied consistently to all
periods presented in these consolidated Financial Statements.
Going concern
The Directors consider the going concern basis of preparation for the Group
and Company to be appropriate for the following reasons.
At the year end, the Group had a £180m asset based finance facility, due to
terminate in July 2026. Cash and facility headroom as at 31 March 2025 was
£42.0m (2024: £56.7m), based on the Group's eligible hire equipment and
trade receivables.
After the year end, the Group entered into a £150m revolving credit facility
in place through to April 2028, with uncommitted extension options for a
further two years, and a £75m private placement term loan due to expire in
April 2032. There are no prior scheduled repayments. Under these facilities,
the Group also has an additional uncommitted accordion of £50m which remains
in place through to April 2028. Headroom at the year end would be improved
under the new facilities secured in April 2025.
The Group meets its day-to-day working capital requirements through operating
cash flows, supplemented as necessary by borrowings. The Directors have
prepared a going concern assessment covering at least 12 months from the date
on which the Financial Statements were authorised for issue, which confirms
that the Group is capable of continuing to operate within its existing loan
facilities and can meet the covenant requirements set out within the
facilities. The key assumptions on which the projections are based include an
assessment of the impact of current and future market conditions on projected
revenues and an assessment of the net capital investment required to support
those expected level of revenues.
The Board has considered severe but plausible downside scenarios to the base
case, which result in reduced levels of revenue, representing marginal revenue
growth, whilst also maintaining a similar cost base. Mitigations applied in
these downturn scenarios include a reduction in planned capital expenditure
and restrictions on significant overhead growth. Despite the significant
impact of the assumptions applied in these scenarios, the Group maintains
sufficient headroom against its available facilities and covenant
requirements.
Whilst the Directors consider that there is a degree of subjectivity involved
in their assumptions, on the basis of the above the Directors have a
reasonable expectation that the Company and the Group have adequate resources
to continue in operational existence for a period of at least 12 months from
the date of approval of these Financial Statements. Accordingly, they continue
to adopt the going concern basis of accounting in preparing the Financial
Statements.
2 Segmental analysis
The segmental disclosure presented in the Financial Statements has been
determined based on the way in which performance is assessed, assets are
monitored and resources allocated, and hence reflects the format of reports
reviewed by the 'chief operating decision-maker'. The Group's reportable
segments are Hire and Services, which form the UK and Ireland ('UK&I')
business.
The Hire segment relates to hire of the Group's core fleet of owned products,
covering a range of product lines in categories such as small tools, access,
power and battery storage, lifting, survey, powered access, welding and plant
machinery. The Services segment predominantly relates to the re-hire of an
extensive range of specialist equipment through partnerships with the
industry's leading suppliers, referred to as Customer Solutions. This segment
also includes fuel and energy sales and management, training, product sales,
and test, inspection and certification services.
An element of the Group's costs are incurred at a corporate level and
consequently cannot be analysed by segment. These costs, together with net
corporate borrowings and taxation, are not directly attributable to the
activities of the operating segments and consequently are presented under
Corporate items. The remaining unallocated net assets comprise principally
working capital balances held by the support services function.
For the year ended 31 March 2025 / As at 31 March 2025
Hire excluding disposals Services UK and Ireland¹ Corporate items Total
£m £m £m £m £m
Revenue 255.0 158.0 416.6 - 416.6
Cost of sales (49.7) (126.7) (180.5) - (180.5)
───── ───── ───── ───── ─────
Gross Profit 205.3 31.3 236.1 - 236.1
═════ ═════ ═════ ═════ ═════
Segment result:
Adjusted EBITDA² 101.0 (3.9) 97.1
Depreciation³ (67.3) (0.3) (67.6)
Loss on planned disposals of hire equipment (2.7) - (2.7)
───── ───── ─────
Operating profit/(loss) before amortisation and non-underlying items 31.0 (4.2) 26.8
Amortisation³ (0.6) (3.2) (3.8)
Non-underlying items (8.0) (1.6) (9.6)
───── ───── ─────
Operating profit/(loss) 22.4 (9.0) 13.4
Share of results of joint venture - 1.0 1.0
───── ───── ─────
Profit/(loss) from operations 22.4 (8.0) 14.4
═════ ═════ ═════
Finance costs (15.9)
─────
Loss before tax (1.5)
Taxation 0.4
─────
Loss for the financial year (1.1)
═════
Intangible assets³ 28.7 9.7 38.4
Investment in joint ventures 0.6 5.1 5.7
Land and buildings 15.0 - 15.0
Hire equipment 222.4 - 222.4
Non-hire equipment 5.9 - 5.9
Right of use assets 104.2 - 104.2
Taxation assets - 2.9 2.9
Current assets 111.5 4.9 116.4
Cash - 2.1 2.1
────── ───── ─────
Total assets 488.3 24.7 513.0
═════ ═════ ═════
Lease liabilities (105.9) - (105.9)
Other liabilities (117.3) (3.8) (121.1)
Borrowings - (115.2) (115.2)
Taxation liabilities - (8.6) (8.6)
───── ───── ─────
Total liabilities (223.2) (127.6) (350.8)
═════ ═════ ═════
¹ UK and Ireland also includes revenue and costs relating to the disposal of
hire assets.
² See note 8.
³ Intangible assets in Corporate items relate to the Group's ERP system,
amortisation is charged to the UK and Ireland segment as this is fundamental
to the trading operations of the Group. Depreciation in Corporate items
relates to computers and is recharged from the UK and Ireland based on
proportional usage.
For the year ended 31 March 2024 / As at 31 March 2024
Hire excluding disposals Services UK and Ireland¹ Corporate items Total
£m £m £m £m £m
Revenue 253.6 162.5 421.5 - 421.5
Cost of sales (54.6) (130.9) (191.5) - (191.5)
───── ───── ───── ───── ─────
Gross Profit 199.0 31.6 230.0 - 230.0
═════ ═════ ═════ ═════ ═════
Segment result:
Adjusted EBITDA² 99.5 (2.7) 96.8
Depreciation³ (66.5) (0.4) (66.9)
Loss on planned disposals of hire equipment (2.4) - (2.4)
───── ───── ─────
Operating profit/(loss) before amortisation and non-underlying items 30.6 (3.1) 27.5
Amortisation³ (0.6) (3.0) (3.6)
Non-underlying items (9.0) - (9.0)
───── ───── ─────
Operating profit/(loss) 21.0 (6.1) 14.9
Share of results of joint venture - 2.9 2.9
───── ───── ─────
Profit/(loss) from operations 21.0 (3.2) 17.8
═════ ═════ ═════
Finance costs (12.7)
─────
Profit before tax 5.1
Taxation (2.4)
─────
Profit for the financial year 2.7
═════
Intangible assets³ 29.4 10.3 39.7
Investment in joint ventures 0.6 8.2 8.8
Land and buildings 15.1 - 15.1
Hire equipment 210.6 - 210.6
Non-hire equipment 7.4 - 7.4
Right of use assets 97.3 - 97.3
Taxation assets - 2.7 2.7
Current assets 110.9 3.7 114.6
Cash - 4.0 4.0
───── ───── ─────
Total assets 471.3 28.9 500.2
═════ ═════ ═════
Lease liabilities (97.6) - (97.6)
Other liabilities (109.3) (4.8) (114.1)
Borrowings - (104.1) (104.1)
Taxation liabilities - (8.7) (8.7)
───── ───── ─────
Total liabilities (206.9) (117.6) (324.5)
═════ ═════ ═════
¹ UK and Ireland also includes revenue and costs relating to the disposal of
hire assets.
² See note 8.
³ Intangible assets in Corporate items relate to the Group's ERP system,
amortisation is charged to the UK and Ireland segment as this is fundamental
to the trading operations of the Group. Depreciation in Corporate items
relates to computers and is recharged from the UK and Ireland based on
proportional usage.
(
)
Geographical information
In presenting geographical information, revenue is based on the geographical
location of customers. Assets are based on the geographical location of the
assets.
Year ended / Year ended /
As at 31 March 2025 As at 31 March 2024
─────────────────── ──────────────────
Revenue Non-current Non-current
assets¹ Revenue assets¹
£m £m £m £m
UK 410.3 384.0 414.2 370.1
Ireland 6.3 7.6 7.3 8.8
───── ───── ───── ─────
416.6 391.6 421.5 378.9
═════ ═════ ═════ ═════
¹ Non-current assets excluding financial instruments and deferred tax assets.
Revenue by type
Revenue is attributed to the following activities:
Year ended Year ended
31 March 2025 31 March 2024
£m £m
Hire and related activities 255.0 253.6
Services 158.0 162.5
Disposals 3.6 5.4
───── ─────
416.6 421.5
═════ ═════
Major customers
No one customer represents more than 10% of revenue, reported profit or
combined assets of the Group.
3 Non-underlying items
Year ended Year ended
31 March 2025 31 March 2024
£m £m
Transformation costs 6.6 3.2
Other professional and support costs 1.8 1.9
Restructuring costs 1.2 3.9
───── ─────
9.6 9.0
═════ ═════
Transformation costs
Our Velocity strategy is split into two distinct phases through to 31 March
2028, being 'Enabling Growth' (years 1 to 3) and 'Delivering Growth' (years 1
to 5). The investment in implementing our Velocity strategy and executing our
transformation programme represents a significant cost to the business and
will continue to do so throughout the 'Enabling' phase to March 2026. The
anticipated cost (including those incurred in FY2024 and FY2025) of this phase
is between £20m and £22m, with £15m to £17m expected to be non-underlying,
primarily relating to incremental people costs. The remainder of the costs
either represent underlying costs to the business or are capital in nature.
Management will continue to monitor and reassess the above based on the
phasing and delivery of the transformation programme.
Of the £6.6m non-underlying cost to the business in the year, £5.1m relates
primarily to incremental people costs.
The roll out of Velocity process improvements and applications, and the
increasing leverage of systems and data, has resulted in the redundancy of
some employees in the year. Related costs of £1.5m have therefore been
presented within non-underlying transformation costs.
Other professional and support costs
In FY2025, the Group engaged with external advisors regarding the refinancing
of the Group. Whilst the Group has entered into the new arrangements post year
end, replacing the asset based lending ('ABL') facility, related advisory
services were provided, and work undertaken, in FY2025.
Legal and professional fees incurred as part of the refinancing cannot be
attributed directly to the new facilities, as they - in part - relate to the
settlement of the old facility. Hence these costs have been recorded through
the Income Statement rather than being capitalised against the new facility.
The remaining fees capitalised in relation to the ABL facility have also been
written off at 31 March 2025, given the refinancing was substantially complete
as at 31 March 2025, with an expectation of completion soon after the year
end.
Restructuring costs
Following the autumn budget, a decision was taken to accelerate 'Future State'
restructuring plans that form part of the operational model changes in the
Velocity strategy. The acceleration of the plan was, in part, to offset the
announced increases in both the national minimum wage and employer national
insurance contributions. Such restructuring has entailed the closure of 8
depots via an acceleration of the Future State programme, with a resulting
reduction in headcount. Restructuring of this scale is not part of the
ordinary course of business and hence has been presented within non-underlying
items.
The net cash outflow from activities associated with non-underlying items
during the year is £6.4m.
The following non-underlying items occurred in FY2024:
Transformation costs
Of the £3.2m non-underlying cost to the business in FY2024, £2.2m related
primarily to incremental people costs, represented by 48 additional heads at
31 March 2024.
The commencement of the transformation programme also necessitated an
assessment of the Group's existing digital capabilities, rendering some
previously capitalised intangible assets as either obsolete or no longer
viable as part of the Group's Velocity strategy. This resulted in a £1.0m
write-off of intangible assets, representing the remainder of the
non-underlying items relating to transformation.
Other Professional and support costs
In October 2023, the Group acquired Green Power Hire Limited ('GPH'),
advancing the Group's sustainable offering to customers and evidencing the
Velocity strategy in action. In addition to the acquisition of GPH, the Group
also incurred costs in respect of the formation of Speedy Hydrogen Solutions,
the joint venture with AFC Energy Plc. The costs incurred relate primarily to
professional and other supporting fees, amounting to £1.4m in total.
An external review of the entire depot network was commissioned, to assess the
condition of each site and the dilapidations that may be payable under the
respective lease agreements. This was the first review of its kind undertaken
by the Group, and it is not expected that a similar exercise of this scale
will be required going forwards. Fees in relation to this review total £0.5m.
Restructuring costs
The Group incurred further, non-underlying, restructuring costs associated
with moving towards its target operating model. At 31 March 2024, the Group
had exited all B&Q concessions and our products and services are now
available for digital hire in-store within every B&Q and Tradepoint as
well as on the respective websites. In evolving our partnership with B&Q
and moving to a more digitally focused model, the Group incurred £2.7m of
losses.
The remainder of the restructuring costs included costs associated with depot
optimisation and restructuring projects of £1.2m.
The net cash outflow in FY2024 from activities associated with non-underlying
items was £6.0m.
4 Finance costs
Year ended Year ended
31 March 31 March
2025 2024
£m £m
Interest on bank loans and overdrafts 9.1 7.4
Amortisation of issue costs 0.4 0.4
───── ─────
Total interest on borrowings 9.5 7.8
Interest on lease liabilities 6.4 5.0
Other finance income - (0.1)
───── ─────
Finance costs 15.9 12.7
═════ ═════
5 Taxation
Year ended Year ended
31 March 31 March
2025 2024
£m £m
Tax (credited)/charged in the Income Statement from continuing operations
Current tax
UK corporation tax on (loss)/profit at 25% (2024: 25%) (0.4) 1.7
Adjustment in respect of prior years 0.1 (0.4)
───── ─────
Total current tax (0.3) 1.3
───── ─────
Deferred tax
UK deferred tax at 25% (2024: 25%) 0.3 1.0
Adjustment in respect of prior years (0.4) 0.1
───── ─────
Total deferred tax (0.1) 1.1
───── ─────
Total tax (credit)/charge from continuing operations (0.4) 2.4
═════ ═════
Tax (credited)/charged in other comprehensive income
Deferred tax on effective portion of changes in fair value of cash flow hedges (0.1) -
═════ ═════
The tax (credit)/charge in the Income Statement for the year of 26.7% (2024:
47.1%) is higher than the standard rate of corporation tax in the UK and is
explained as follows:
Year ended Year ended
31 March 31 March
2025 2024
£m £m
(Loss)/profit before tax (1.5) 5.1
───── ─────
Accounting (loss)/profit multiplied by the standard rate of corporation tax at (0.4) 1.3
25%
Expenses not deductible for tax purposes 0.4 2.2
Share-based payments 0.1 -
Share of joint venture income already taxed (0.2) (0.8)
Adjustment in respect of prior years (0.3) (0.3)
───── ─────
Tax (credit)/charge for the year reported in the Income Statement (0.4) 2.4
═════ ═════
The adjusted effective tax rate of 24.1% (2024: 26.5% restated) is lower
(2024: higher) than the standard rate of UK corporation tax of 25% (2024:
25%).
6 Earnings per share
The calculation of basic earnings per share is based on the loss for the
financial year of £1.1m (2024: £2.7m profit) and the weighted average number
of ordinary shares in issue, and is calculated as follows:
Year ended Year ended
31 March 31 March
2025 2024
Weighted average number of shares in issue (m)
Number of shares at the beginning of the year 457.7 457.7
Movement in shares owned by the Employee Benefit Trust 2.4 -
Vested shares not yet exercised 0.2 2.7
───── ─────
Weighted average for the year - basic number of shares 460.3 460.4
Share options 0.2 3.9
Employee share scheme 0.5 -
───── ─────
Weighted average for the year - diluted number of shares 461.0 464.3
═════ ═════
Year ended Year ended
31 March 31 March
2025 2024
Loss/(profit) (£m)
(Loss)/profit for the year after tax - basic earnings (1.1) 2.7
Intangible amortisation charge - acquired intangibles (after tax) 0.4 1.0
Non-underlying items (after tax) 7.2 7.1
───── ─────
Adjusted earnings 6.5 10.8
═════ ═════
Earnings per share (pence)
Basic earnings per share (0.24) 0.59
Dilutive shares and options - (0.01)
───── ─────
Diluted earnings per share (0.24) 0.58
═════ ═════
Adjusted earnings per share 1.41 2.35
Dilutive shares and options - (0.02)
───── ─────
Adjusted diluted earnings per share 1.41 2.33
═════ ═════
More detail on adjusted earnings is provided in note 8.
Total number of shares outstanding at 31 March 2025 amounted to 516,983,637
(2024: 516,983,637), including 55,141,657 (2024: 55,146,281) shares held in
treasury and 1,329,911 (2024: 4,106,820) shares held in the Employee Benefit
Trust and which are excluded in calculating basic earnings per share.
7 Dividends
The aggregate amount of dividend paid in the year comprises:
Year ended Year ended
31 March 31 March
2025 2024
£m £m
2023 final dividend (1.80 pence on 452.9m ordinary shares) - 8.2
2024 interim dividend (0.80 pence on 453.5m ordinary shares) - 3.6
2024 final dividend (1.80 pence on 454.7m ordinary shares) 8.2 -
2025 interim dividend (0.80 pence on 455.6m ordinary shares) 3.6 -
───── ─────
11.8 11.8
═════ ═════
Subsequent to the end of the year, and not included in the results for the
year, the Directors recommended a final dividend of 1.80 pence (2024: 1.80
pence) per share, bringing the total amount payable in respect of the year
ended 31 March 2025 to 2.60 pence (2024: 2.60 pence), to be paid on 19
September 2025 to shareholders on the register on 8 August 2025.
The Employee Benefit Trust, established to hold shares for the Performance
Share Plan and other employee benefits, waived its right to the interim
dividend. At 31 March 2025, the Trust held 1,329,911 ordinary shares (2024:
4,106,820).
8 Non-GAAP performance measures
The Group believes that the measures below provide valuable additional
information for users of the Financial Statements in assessing the Group's
performance by adjusting for the effect of non-underlying items and
significant non-cash depreciation and amortisation. The Group uses these
measures for planning, budgeting and reporting purposes and for its internal
assessment of the operating performance of the individual divisions within the
Group. The measures on a continuing basis are as follows.
Year ended Year ended
31 March 31 March
2025 2024
£m £m
Operating profit 13.4 14.9
Add back: amortisation 3.8 3.6
Add back: non-underlying items 9.6 9.0
───── ─────
Adjusted operating profit (EBITA) 26.8 27.5
Add back: depreciation 67.6 66.9
Add back: loss on planned disposals of hire equipment 2.7 2.4
───── ─────
Adjusted EBITDA 97.1 96.8
═════ ═════
(Loss)/profit before tax (1.5) 5.1
Add back: amortisation of acquired intangibles 0.6 0.6
Add back: non-underlying items 9.6 9.0
───── ─────
Adjusted profit before tax 8.7 14.7
═════ ═════
Return on capital employed (ROCE)
Adjusted profit before tax 8.7 14.7
Finance costs 15.9 12.7
───── ─────
Profit before tax, interest, amortisation of acquired intangibles and 24.6 27.4
non-underlying items(1)
Average gross capital employed(2) 276.2 277.0
ROCE 8.9% 9.9%
(1) Profit before tax, finance costs, amortisation of acquired intangibles and
non-underlying items for the last 12 months.
(2) Average gross capital employed (where capital employed equals total equity
and net debt) based on a two-point average for the last 12 months.
9 Intangible fixed assets
Internally generated
Acquired
Goodwill Customer lists Brands Total acquired intangibles IT development Total intangible assets
£m £m £m £m £m £m
Cost
At 1 April 2023 17.5 2.9 1.3 21.7 7.8 29.5
Transfer from property, plant and equipment - - - - 8.3 8.3
Additions - - - - 1.9 1.9
Acquisitions 9.9 1.0 - 10.9 - 10.9
───── ───── ───── ───── ───── ─────
At 31 March 2024 27.4 3.9 1.3 32.6 18.0 50.6
Additions - - - - 2.5 2.5
───── ───── ───── ───── ───── ─────
At 31 March 2025 27.4 3.9 1.3 32.6 20.5 53.1
═════ ═════ ═════ ═════ ═════ ═════
Accumulated amortisation
At 1 April 2023 - 1.7 0.9 2.6 1.9 4.5
Transfer from property, plant and equipment - - - - 2.8 2.8
Charged in year - 0.4 0.2 0.6 3.0 3.6
───── ───── ───── ───── ───── ─────
At 31 March 2024 - 2.1 1.1 3.2 7.7 10.9
Charged in year - 0.4 0.2 0.6 3.2 3.8
───── ───── ───── ───── ───── ─────
At 31 March 2025 - 2.5 1.3 3.8 10.9 14.7
═════ ═════ ═════ ═════ ═════ ═════
Net book value
At 31 March 2025 27.4 1.4 - 28.8 9.6 38.4
═════ ═════ ═════ ═════ ═════ ═════
At 31 March 2024 27.4 1.8 0.2 29.4 10.3 39.7
═════ ═════ ═════ ═════ ═════ ═════
At 31 March 2023 17.5 1.2 0.4 19.1 5.9 25.0
═════ ═════ ═════ ═════ ═════ ═════
The remaining amortisation period of each category of intangible fixed asset
is the following: Customer lists two to nine years (2024: three to ten years),
Brands two years (2024: three years) and IT development three to four years
(2024: four years).
Analysis of goodwill, customer lists, brands and IT development by
cash-generating unit:
Goodwill Customer Brands IT development Total
lists
£m £m £m £m £m
Allocated to
Hire 26.4 1.1 - 8.4 35.9
Services 1.0 0.3 - 1.2 2.5
───── ───── ───── ───── ─────
At 31 March 2025 27.4 1.4 - 9.6 38.4
═════ ═════ ═════ ═════ ═════
Allocated to
Hire 26.4 1.4 0.1 8.9 36.8
Services 1.0 0.4 0.1 1.4 2.9
───── ───── ───── ───── ─────
At 31 March 2024 27.4 1.8 0.2 10.3 39.7
═════ ═════ ═════ ═════ ═════
All goodwill has arisen from business combinations and has been allocated to
the cash-generating unit ('CGU') expected to benefit from those business
combinations. All intangible assets are held in the UK.
The Group tests goodwill for impairment annually, or more frequently if there
are indications that goodwill might be impaired, and considers at each
reporting date whether there are indicators that impairment may have occurred.
Other assets are assessed at each reporting date for any indicators of
impairment and tested if an indicator is identified. The Group's reportable
CGUs comprise the UK&I Hire business (Hire) and UK&I Services business
(Services), representing the lowest level within the Group at which the
associated assets are monitored for management purposes.
The recoverable amounts of the assets allocated to the CGUs are determined by
a value-in-use calculation. The value-in-use calculation uses cash flow
projections based on five-year financial forecasts approved by the Board. The
key assumptions for these forecasts are those regarding trading performance
and discount rate, which management estimates based on past experience
adjusted for current market trends and expectations of future changes in the
market. To prepare the value-in-use calculation, the Group uses cash flow
projections from the Board approved FY2026 budget, and a subsequent four-year
period using the Group's strategic plan, together with a terminal value into
perpetuity using long-term growth rates. The Group's budget and strategic plan
assume average annual growth in adjusted operating profit of circa 30% to an
average margin of 9.0% across the five-year forecast period, in line with our
Velocity strategy. The Directors believe that the assumptions adopted in the
cash flow forecasts are the most appropriate.
The resulting forecast cash flows are discounted back to present value, using
an estimate of the Group's pre-tax weighted average cost of capital, adjusted
for risk factors associated with the CGUs and market-specific risks.
The impairment model is prepared in nominal terms. The future cash flows are
based on current price terms inflated into future values, using general
inflation and any known cost or sales initiatives. The discount rate is
calculated in nominal terms, using market and published rates.
The pre-tax discount rates and terminal growth rates applied are as follows:
31 March 2025 31 March 2024
───────────────────── ─────────────────────
Pre-tax Terminal value Pre-tax Terminal value
discount rate growth rate discount rate growth rate
UK and Ireland Hire and Services 12.6% 2.0% 12.2% 2.0%
═════ ═════ ═════ ═════
A single discount rate is applied to both CGUs as they operate in the same
market, with access to the same shared Group financing facility, with no
additional specific risks applicable to either CGU.
At 31 March 2025, the headroom between value-in-use and carrying value of
related assets for the UK and Ireland was £261.8m (2024: £131.0m) - £165.7m
for Hire (2024: £45.0m) and £96.1m for Services (2024: £86.0m).
Impairment calculations are sensitive to changes in key assumptions around
trading performance and discount rate. An impairment may be identified if
there is a significant change to these key assumptions, resulting from
declining economic or market conditions and sustained underperformance of the
Group.
Sensitivity analysis has been performed which represents a severe but
plausible downside scenario, consistent with that applied in relation to going
concern. This value-in-use modelling and impairment testing indicates that
there is no reasonable possible change in these assumptions that could lead to
an impairment of the Services CGU.
The sensitivity analysis performed in respect of the Hire CGU does not result
in the need to recognise an impairment. However, a reasonably possible change
in certain key assumptions would cause the carrying values of the Hire CGU to
exceed its recoverable amount. The recoverable amount of the Hire CGU would
equal the carrying amount if the annual average annual growth in adjusted
operating profit falls below c.20% to an average margin of 5.6% over the
five-year forecast period. The goodwill in the Hire CGU, of £26.4m, would be
totally impaired if the average annual growth in adjusted operating profit
falls below c.16% to an average margin of 5.3% over the forecast period.
The headroom in the Hire CGU is also sensitive to a change in discount rate,
for example a 1% fall in discount rate would give rise to an increase in
headroom of £55.1m. Conversely, the recoverable amount would equal the
carrying amount if the discount rate increased by c.40% to 17.4%, from 12.6%.
Based on the analysis performed, reflecting the opportunities for growth in
revenue, the Velocity strategy, mitigation opportunities and considering the
relevant sensitivity analysis, the Directors believe that no impairment is
required at the balance sheet date. The position will be reassessed at the
next reporting date.
It is noted that the market capitalisation of the Group at 31 March 2025 was
below the consolidated net asset position - one indicator that an impairment
may exist. Based on the impairment test performed and discussed above, the
Directors believe that no impairment is required in this regard.
10 Property, plant and equipment
Land and Hire Total
buildings equipment Other
£m £m £m £m
Cost
At 1 April 2023 54.5 395.9 96.6 547.0
Transfer to Intangible Assets(1) - - (8.3) (8.3)
Foreign exchange - (0.5) - (0.5)
Acquisitions - 11.8 - 11.8
Additions 6.7 42.5 2.3 51.5
Disposals (3.0) (35.9) (62.4) (101.3)
Transfers to inventory - (27.8) - (27.8)
───── ───── ───── ─────
At 31 March 2024 58.2 386.0 28.2 472.4
Foreign exchange - (0.5) - (0.5)
Additions 4.9 57.5 0.8 63.2
Disposals (2.1) (19.9) (1.3) (23.3)
Transfers to inventory - (21.6) - (21.6)
───── ───── ───── ─────
At 31 March 2025 61.0 401.5 27.7 490.2
═════ ═════ ═════ ═════
Accumulated depreciation
At 1 April 2023 40.6 188.0 80.7 309.3
Transfer to Intangible Assets(1) - - (2.8) (2.8)
Foreign exchange - (0.2) - (0.2)
Charged in year 4.4 32.6 3.5 40.5
Disposals (1.3) (24.5) (61.2) (87.0)
Transfers to inventory - (20.5) - (20.5)
───── ───── ───── ─────
At 31 March 2024 43.7 175.4 20.2 239.3
Foreign exchange - (0.4) - (0.4)
Charged in year 4.1 30.9 2.6 37.6
Disposals (1.8) (11.5) (1.0) (14.3)
Transfers to inventory - (15.3) - (15.3)
───── ───── ───── ─────
At 31 March 2025 46.0 179.1 21.8 246.9
═════ ═════ ═════ ═════
Net book value
At 31 March 2025 15.0 222.4 5.9 243.3
═════ ═════ ═════ ═════
At 31 March 2024 14.5 210.6 8.0 233.1
═════ ═════ ═════ ═════
At 31 March 2023 13.9 207.9 15.9 237.7
═════ ═════ ═════ ═════
(1) At 31 March 2023, software with a net book value of £6.7m was included in
other property, plant and equipment. This was transferred to Intangible Assets
during the year ended 31 March 2024 to correct the classification.
The net book value of land and buildings is made up of improvements to short
leasehold properties.
Of the £222.4m (2024: £210.6m) net book value of hire equipment, £25.7m
(2024: £28.1m) relates to non-itemised assets.
The net book value of other - non-hire equipment - comprises, fixtures,
fittings, office equipment and IT equipment.
At 31 March 2025, no indicators of impairment were identified in relation to
property, plant and equipment (2024: none).
11 Right of use assets
Land and Total
buildings Other
£m £m £m
Cost
At 1 April 2023 145.3 64.8 210.1
Additions 9.0 13.0 22.0
Remeasurements 17.9 0.8 18.7
Disposals (6.7) (11.7) (18.4)
───── ───── ─────
At 31 March 2024 165.5 66.9 232.4
Additions 2.1 19.3 21.4
Remeasurements 13.1 3.2 16.3
Disposals (5.4) (10.1) (15.5)
───── ───── ─────
At 31 March 2025 175.3 79.3 254.6
═════ ═════ ═════
Accumulated depreciation
At 1 April 2023 100.3 26.6 126.9
Charged in year 12.6 13.8 26.4
Disposals (6.6) (11.6) (18.2)
───── ───── ─────
At 31 March 2024 106.3 28.8 135.1
Charged in year 14.2 15.8 30.0
Disposals (4.9) (9.8) (14.7)
───── ───── ─────
At 31 March 2025 115.6 34.8 150.4
═════ ═════ ═════
Net book value
At 31 March 2025 59.7 44.5 104.2
═════ ═════ ═════
At 31 March 2024 59.2 38.1 97.3
═════ ═════ ═════
At 31 March 2023 45.0 38.2 83.2
═════ ═════ ═════
Land and buildings leases comprise depots and associated ancillary leases such
as car parks and yards.
Other leases consist of cars, lorries, vans and forklifts.
Included within disposals for the year ended 31 March 2025 is £0.4m (2024:
£0.1m) relating to impairment of property leases presented within
non-underlying items.
12 Borrowings
31 March 31 March
2025 2024
£m £m
Current borrowings
Bank overdraft - 1.2
Payables financing 2.3 -
Lease liabilities 25.0 22.1
───── ─────
27.3 23.3
═════ ═════
Non-current borrowings
Maturing between one and five years
- Asset based finance facility 112.9 104.1
- Lease liabilities 80.9 75.5
───── ─────
Total non-current borrowings 193.8 179.6
───── ─────
Total borrowings 221.1 202.9
Less: cash (2.1) (4.0)
Exclude lease liabilities (105.9) (97.6)
───── ─────
Net debt(1) 113.1 101.3
═════ ═════
(1) Key performance indicator - excluding lease liabilities.
Reconciliation of financing liabilities and net debt
1 April Non-cash Cash flow 31 March
2024 movement 2025
£m £m £m £m
Bank borrowings (104.1) (0.2) (8.6) (112.9)
Payables financing - - (2.3) (2.3)
Lease liabilities (97.6) 26.7 (35.0) (105.9)
───── ───── ───── ─────
Liabilities arising from financing activities (201.7) 26.5 (45.9) (221.1)
Cash and cash equivalents 4.0 - (1.9) 2.1
Bank overdraft (1.2) - 1.2 -
───── ───── ───── ─────
Net debt (198.9) 26.5 (46.6) (219.0)
═════ ═════ ═════ ═════
Bank borrowings
At the year end, the Group had a £180m asset based finance facility sub
divided into:
(a) A secured overdraft facility, which secured by cross
guarantees and debentures the bank deposits and overdrafts of the Company and
certain subsidiary companies up to a maximum of £5m.
(b) An asset based finance facility of up to £175m, based on
the Group's itemised hire equipment and trade receivables balance. The cash
and undrawn availability of this facility as at 31 March 2025 was £42.0m
(2024: £56.7m), based on the Group's eligible hire equipment and trade
receivables.
The facility was for £180m, reduced to the extent that any ancillary
facilities were provided, and was repayable in July 2026, with no prior
scheduled repayment requirements. An additional uncommitted accordion of
£220m was also in place.
Interest on the facility was calculated by reference to SONIA (previously
LIBOR) applicable to the period drawn, plus a margin of 175 to 235 basis
points, depending on leverage and on the components of the borrowing base.
During the year, the effective margin was 2.14% (2024: 1.92%).
The facility was secured by fixed and floating charges over the Group's
itemised hire fleet assets and trade receivables.
The facility had a Minimum Excess Availability covenant: At any time, 10
percent of the £180m facility ('Total Commitments').
Where availability fell below the Minimum Excess Availability, the financial
covenants (below) were required to be tested. Covenants were not required to
be tested where availability was above Minimum Excess Availability.
Leverage in respect of any Relevant Period shall be less than or equal to 3:1;
Fixed Charge Cover in respect of any Relevant Period shall be greater than or
equal to 2.1:1
After the year end the Group refinanced its borrowings - see note 16.
Payables financing
The Group is also party to a payables finance arrangement whereby credit from
a bank is used to settle supplier invoices, with the Group then settling its
balance with the bank at a later date. Supplier invoices settled using the
payables financing facility are settled on the same terms as comparable trade
payables settled outside of the arrangement.
Under the arrangement, the Group obtains extended payment terms without
affecting payments to suppliers and is able to direct the payments the bank
makes on the Group's behalf. Joint and several liability is also in place
under the facility. Given the substantially different terms the Group has with
the bank under this arrangement, the supplier trade payable is derecognised
once the liability is discharged upon payment, with a new financing liability
instead recognised - representing the amount the Group owes to the bank -
presented as a separate line item within current borrowings.
For the purpose of the cash flow statement, management considers that the bank
settles the invoices as a payment agent on behalf of the Group. Any payment
made by the bank is therefore presented as an operating cash outflow and a
financing cash inflow. When the Group subsequently pays the amount outstanding
to the bank, this is presented as a financing cash outflow. As a result, the
amount of the payables financing facility utilised but not yet settled is
included in the net debt reconciliation.
No significant non-cash changes arise as a result of this arrangement.
13 Lease liabilities
Land and Total
buildings Other
£m £m £m
At 1 April 2023 45.2 40.9 86.1
Additions 9.0 13.0 22.0
Remeasurements 14.8 0.8 15.6
Repayments (15.5) (15.5) (31.0)
Unwinding of discount rate 2.5 2.5 5.0
Terminations (0.1) - (0.1)
───── ───── ─────
At 31 March 2024 55.9 41.7 97.6
Additions 2.1 19.3 21.4
Remeasurements 13.1 3.2 16.3
Repayments (16.8) (18.2) (35.0)
Unwinding of discount rate 3.2 3.2 6.4
Terminations (0.8) - (0.8)
───── ───── ─────
At 31 March 2025 56.7 49.2 105.9
═════ ═════ ═════
Included within terminations for the year ended 31 March 2025 is £0.4m (2024:
£0.1m) relating to terminations of property leases presented within
non-underlying items.
Amounts payable for lease liabilities (discounted at the incremental borrowing
rate of each lease) fall due as follows:
31 March 31 March
2025 2024
£m £m
Payable within one year 25.0 22.1
Payable in more than one year 80.9 75.5
───── ─────
At 31 March 105.9 97.6
═════ ═════
14 Provisions
Dilapidations
£m
At 1 April 2023 15.6
Additional provision recognised 2.1
Provision utilised in the year (1.3)
─────
At 31 March 2024 16.4
New provision created 0.5
Provision utilised in the year (2.8)
─────
At 31 March 2025 14.1
═════
Of the £14.1m provision at 31 March 2025 (2024: £16.4m), £6.1m (2024:
£8.8m) is due within one year and £8.0m (2024: £7.6m) is due after one
year.
The dilapidations provision relates to amounts payable to restore leased
premises to their original condition upon the Group's exit of the lease for
the site and other committed costs. Dilapidations may not be settled for some
months following the Group's exit of the lease and are calculated based on
estimated expenditure required to settle the landlord's claim at current
market rates. The total liability is discounted to current values.
The provision recognised is based on management's best estimate of likely
settlement and sits within a range of possible outcomes. The calculated
provision equates to an expected settlement of £6.47 per square foot (2024:
£7.24). If this were to change by £1 per square foot, a £2.2m movement
(2024: £2.1m) in the provision would result.
15 Share capital
31 March 2025 31 March 2024
Number Amount Number Amount
m £m m £m
Authorised, allotted, called-up and fully paid
Opening balance (ordinary shares of 5 pence each) 517.0 25.8 517.0 25.8
Exercise of Sharesave Scheme options - - - -
───── ───── ───── ─────
Total 517.0 25.8 517.0 25.8
═════ ═════ ═════ ═════
During the year, 4,624 ordinary shares of 5 pence were transferred from
treasury on exercise of options under the Speedy Hire Sharesave Scheme (2024:
nil).
An Employee Benefits Trust was established in 2004 ('the Trust'). The Trust
holds shares issued by the Company in connection with the Performance Share
Plan. No shares were acquired by the Trust during the year (2024: nil) and
2,731,148 (2024: 101,393, restated to record additional share transfers of
45,761) shares were transferred during the year, the vast majority being the
exercise of options by former employees. At 31 March 2025, the Trust held
1,329,911 (2024: 4,106,820) shares.
16 Post balance sheet events
After the year end the Group refinanced its borrowings with new facilities of
£225m comprising a:
· £150m revolving credit facility ('RCF') with a three year
maturity, with options to extend up to a further two years.
· £75m private placement term loan with a seven year maturity.
The RCF is priced based on SONIA plus a variable margin, while any unutilised
commitment is charged at 35% of the applicable margin. The price on the
private placement term loan is fixed for the duration of the facility.
These facilities replace the Group's existing £180m asset based lending
facility which was due to expire in July 2026. The ABL facility balance of
£112.9m at 31 March 2025 was repaid in full on 24 April 2025 and the new
facilities simultaneously entered into.
Consistent with the Group's previous financing arrangements, the new
facilities include quarterly leverage and fixed charge cover covenant tests.
This new debt structure will provide the Group with greater flexibility to
support its growth strategy.
The responsibility statement below has been prepared in connection with the
Group's full annual report for the year ended 31 March 2025. Certain parts
of that report are not included within this announcement.
Directors' Responsibilities Statement
We confirm that to the best of our knowledge:
· the Financial Statements, prepared in accordance with the
applicable set of accounting standards, give a true and fair view of the
assets, liabilities, financial position and profit or loss of the Company and
the undertakings included in the consolidation taken as a whole;
· the Strategic Report includes a fair review of the development
and performance of the business and the position of the Company and the
undertakings included in the consolidation taken as a whole, together with a
description of the principal risks and uncertainties that they face.
The names and functions of the Directors of the Company are:
Name Function
David Shearer Chairman
Dan Evans Chief Executive
Paul Rayner Chief Financial Officer
David Garman Senior Independent Director
Rob Barclay Non-Executive Director
Rhian Bartlett Non-Executive Director
Shatish Dasani Non-Executive Director
Carol Kavanagh Non-Executive Director
Principal risks and uncertainties
The business strategy in place and the nature of the industry in which we
operate expose the Group to a number of risks. As part of the risk management
framework in place, the Board considers on an ongoing basis the nature,
likelihood and potential impact of each of the significant risks it is willing
to accept in achieving its strategic objectives.
The Board has delegated to the Audit & Risk Committee responsibility for
reviewing the effectiveness of the Group's internal controls, including the
systems established to identify, assess, manage and monitor risks. These
systems, which ensure that risk is managed at the appropriate level within the
business, can only mitigate risk rather than eliminate it completely.
Direct ownership of risk management within the Group lies with the senior
management teams. Each individual is responsible for maintaining a risk
register for their area of the business and is required to update this on a
regular basis. The key items are consolidated into a Group risk register which
has been used by the Board to carry out a robust assessment of the principal
risks.
The principal risks and mitigating controls in place are summarised below.
Controllable Risks
Vehicle or Health and Safety Incident
Description and potential impact Mitigation
Failure to maintain high safety standards could lead to the risk of serious Health and Safety is fundamental to the Company's values. Speedy Hire
injury, legal action or reputational damage. continues to challenge current ways of thinking to improve risk exposure in
its operations and improve safety performance. An open reporting culture is
fostered with colleagues encouraged to report anything that they consider
to be unsafe. Monthly communications to all colleagues highlight examples
Speedy Hire operates in many industries such as construction, utilities and of successfully addressed issues or where there are lessons to be learned.
infrastructure. The business also commands a large fleet of vehicles.
Speedy Hire has in place robust health and safety policies and procedures and
is recognised for its industry leading health and safety compliance. Training
is provided to all colleagues with managers expected to champion safety
awareness within Speedy Hire's culture. We maintain systems that enable us to
hold appropriate industry recognised accreditations, and this is supported by
a specialist software platform for managing data and reporting in relation to
Health, Safety and Environment.
We have one of the most modern fleets of delivery vehicles in the sector which
encompass all the latest safety standards and beyond to ensure colleagues,
customers and members of the public are safe when interacting with our
fleet.
Key actions undertaken in FY2025
Workplace transport risk assessments have been undertaken to identify risks
and strengthen preventative controls.
Safety Culture training has been provided for senior leaders and operational
managers throughout the year.
Project has been undertaken to utilise digital platforms to communicate safety
guidance and information.
Significant IT outage or Disaster Recovery event
Description and potential impact Mitigation
A significant IT outage or IT Disaster Recovery event which results in Speedy Hire has critical incident plans in place for all its sites. This is
significant downtime of the business resulting in reputational damage, lost supported by a documented plan to establish a crisis management team when
business and lost employee hours. events occur that interrupt business. This includes detailed plans for all
critical trading sites and head office support. These plans are regularly
tested by management and any advisory actions raised implemented on a timely
basis. In addition to this insurance cover is reviewed at regular intervals to
ensure appropriate coverage in the event of a business continuity issue.
Preventative controls, including back-up and recovery procedures, are in place
for key IT systems. Changes to Speedy Hire's systems are considered as part of
wider change management programmes and implemented in phases wherever
possible.
Key actions undertaken in FY2025
Key controls in this area are well established and as such ongoing monitoring
and updates are undertaken to ensure that the controls are maintained.
Cyber attack
Description and potential impact Mitigation
A cyber attack which results in a threat actor gaining unauthorised access to Speedy Hire remains vigilant with regards to cyber security, with stringent
data or systems resulting in significant downtime, loss of Company commercial policies surrounding security, user access, and change control put in place.
information or personal data which could result in disruption of the business, Mandatory training for employees to raise awareness of cyber security has been
fines, legal or regulatory action, and reputational damage and/or loss of established and completion rates for this are monitored.
public confidence.
An established Cyber Security Governance Committee, including Board members,
meets quarterly to monitor our control framework and reports on a routine
basis to the Audit & Risk Committee.
Speedy Hire's IT systems are protected against internal and external
unauthorised access. These protections are tested regularly by an independent
provider. All mobile devices have access restrictions and, where appropriate,
data encryption is applied.
Key actions undertaken in FY2025
Cyber Essentials Plus accreditation renewal achieved.
ISO27001 accreditation transitioned to 2022 standard.
Strengthened IT related controls relating to USB storage, network access and
bring your own device requirements.
Application whitelisting and ring fencing established on corporate end
points.
Secure code development testing using enhanced software tooling has been
established.
Velocity does not deliver on expected benefits
Description and potential impact Mitigation
Velocity does not deliver the level of cost saving and benefit expected by the A business plan for the transformation programme has been completed and
business and shareholders resulting in a fall in share price and loss of approved by the Board. Each pillar of the transformation plan has an Executive
expected benefit and outlay by the business. Team sponsor and ongoing monitoring of activity and progress. KPI tracking is
in place for each initiative.
Financial business cases are done at programme level and individual project
level. These are updated monthly to track cost and benefit realisation. These
are shared with the Executive Team on a monthly basis.
Key actions undertaken in FY2025
Overall strategy themes are broken down into individual action plans and
regular monitoring established.
Additional resources identified to support change management with additional
training provided to employees.
Funding arrangements
Description and potential impact Mitigation
Funding arrangements in place are not sufficient, agreements break down or The Board has an established Treasury Policy regarding the nature, amount and
funds are not available on a timely basis resulting in a lack of available maturity of committed funding facilities that should be in place to support
funds for ongoing business arrangements or arising opportunities. Speedy Hire's activities.
We have a defined capital allocation policy. This ensures that Speedy Hire's
capital requirements, forecast, actual financial performance, and potential
sources of finance are reviewed at Board level on a regular basis in order
that its requirements can be managed within appropriate levels of spare
capacity. Compliance with financial covenants is monitored by the Board on
regularly and formally reported on a quarterly basis under the new financing
arrangements.
Subsequent to the year end, the Group secured new financing facilities of
£225m, represented by a £150m revolving credit facility (''RCF'') and a
£75m private placement term loan. The RCF is in place through to April 2028,
with uncommitted extension options for a further two years. The private
placement term loan is in place through to April 2032.
Key actions undertaken in FY2025
Additional controls and approval procedures for 'out of the ordinary' and
unbudgeted spend have been reviewed and strengthened.
Climate Change
Description and potential impact Mitigation
Climate-related risks may materialise and cause a wide range of adverse Speedy Hire regularly identifies its most material climate-related
impacts to Speedy Hire over the short, medium and long term. The severity of responsibilities and challenges in order to target investment and drive
any impact would vary depending on the climate scenario and a range of local effective mitigation. Governance is led by the Board, which receives regular
and macro factors. reports on the most material climate risks and opportunities, the action
taken, and the progress made.
Environment and Social Governance (ESG) policies and procedures are in place
regarding the need to adhere to local laws and regulations. As part of this,
carbon emissions are monitored, reported and where possible mitigated by
decarbonisation actions. In addition, procurement policies determine Speedy
Hire's strategic direction for the latest available emissions management and
fuel efficiency from our purchases.
To do this Speedy Hire collaborates with key suppliers to develop and pilot
new technologies. Speedy Hire also has a plan in place to transition to lower
carbon vehicles and properties. This information is found on the Speedy Hire
Net Zero Roadmap.
We review all climate change-related risks and opportunities, annually,
holding discussions with key stakeholders across the business to identify
mitigation measures and management responses. Further details in relation to
sustainability and climate change are detailed in the Taskforce for
Climate-Related Financial Disclosures ('TCFD') section of the Annual Report
and Accounts.
Key actions undertaken in FY2025
Governance Arrangements for ESG have been established with regular committee
meetings being held during the year.
Additional processes and controls have been put in place to ensure our Scope
1, 2 and 3 emissions data is accurately reported.
Sustainability workshops have been held to further knowledge and understating
across the Company.
Future of energy generation
Description and potential impact Mitigation
An inability to effectively diversify into alternative fuels and energy Speedy Hire looks to champion new energy sources and offer assets with
sources impacts Speedy Hire's ability to sufficiently evolve our core service diversified fuel and power provisions. Investment is being made into assets
provisions to move with future developments. This may result in the loss of utilising alternative fuel sources and consideration is given to emerging
key product lines and impact Speedy Hire's ability to continue to grow which markets and technologies. We track market trends and emerging technologies to
impacts investor confidence. be aware of fuel alternatives. Regular customer engagement ensures we align
with sustainability priorities and highlight the carbon and cost benefits of
eco-products. Our Investment Committee's roadmap priorities low-carbon
technologies, sustainable fuels, and the phased divestment of carbon-intensive
products.
Collaboration with key suppliers also drives innovation, ensuring we deliver
low-carbon solutions that meet customer expectations while supporting
sustainability and long-term growth.
To quantify the risk to revenue in the inability to move to alternate fuel
sources for products, our TCFD modelling now includes a quantitative
disclosure methodology. We now track our top ten customers appetite for
alternative product fuel sources in two categories (tower lights and
generators). Through the tracking of their SBT's, net zero targets in scope 1,
we have identified within these two product discount groups what procurement
strategy Speedy must align to and over what timeline Speedy Hire will see the
largest demand in these alternative fuel sources.
Key actions undertaken in FY2025
Opportunities identified for further use of HVO fuel.
Continued to strengthen relationships through key suppliers and partnerships
to invest in new technologies.
Competitor risk - loss of market share
Description and potential impact Mitigation
Loss of significant contracts or market share to competitors resulting in Speedy Hire monitors its competitive position closely, to ensure that it can
reduced revenues and loss of investor confidence which may affect share offer customers the best solutions. Speedy Hire provides a broad product
price. offering supplemented by our rehire division.
Market share is monitored, and our activity measured against that of our
competition allowing us to adapt in line with market changes. The performance
of major accounts is monitored against forecasts, strength of client future
order books and individual requirements with a view to ensuring that the
opportunities for Speedy Hire are maximised.
Key actions undertaken in FY2025
Continued monitoring of key products, customers and competitors.
Continued implementation of Transformation projects to continue to improve our
service offering.
Loss of a major Speedy Hire site
Description and potential impact Mitigation
A major site (e.g. RSC+ or NSC) is not operational for a significant period of Speedy Hire recognises the importance of robust operational resilience
time resulting in loss of revenue, equipment and/or reputation. capabilities and has established Business Continuity Plans and processes which
have been tested and are reviewed on an ongoing basis. For key operational
sites impact assessments are undertaken and have been completed on NSCs and
our Head Office.
To assess our resilience, incident scenario testing has been undertaken with
third parties to ascertain readiness and the robust nature of our plans. The
findings of these reviews have been used to further develop our response
plans.
A crisis management team is in place with testing of crisis management
response reviewed through workshops.
Key actions undertaken in FY2025
Training delivered to depot and regional managers for key and high-risk
locations.
Loss of talent
Description and potential impact Mitigation
Speedy Hire aims to ensure the appropriate talent is in place to support the There is a People Strategy in place which is being delivered through
existing and future growth of the business. our People First programme. This programme is informed by workforce planning
and includes: the skills framework; career pathways and development of our
workforce to meet future skills requirements; focus on reinforcing our
leadership capability; enhancements to our ability to attract talent;
Failure to attract, develop and retain the necessary high-performing investment in early careers; engagement and reward strategies to improve
colleagues could adversely impact financial performance and achieving the retention; and building better career development opportunities and support
business' future strategies and objectives. for our employees. This includes targets to improve our diversity, equity and
inclusivity (including ability) which are designed to attract individuals with
the best talent from across the population.
Speedy Hire provides well-structured and competitive reward and benefit
packages that ensure our ability to attract and retain employees.
Talent and succession planning aims to identify high performers with potential
within Speedy Hire and is formally reviewed on an annual basis by the
Nomination Committee, focusing on both short and long-term successors for the
key roles within Speedy Hire. We actively consider promotion opportunities in
preference to external hiring where possible.
We also have a number of wellbeing initiatives provided by internal and
external partners to ensure we offer appropriate support to all colleagues.
Key actions undertaken in FY2025
Continuous Performance Management Framework developed.
Skills frameworks and new career pathways rollout started.
Change Leadership Programme completed with the senior leadership team.
'Managing your Team Through Change' training for managers and team leaders has
been rolled out across Speedy Hire.
Introduction of Women in Leadership Apprenticeships providing development to
empower our female colleagues across Speedy Hire and Leadership Pathway
Apprenticeships for the development of aspiring middle and senior managers.
24-month core skills development programme for graduates across Speedy Hire.
Uncontrollable Risks
Market and economic conditions
Description and potential impact Mitigation
Serious downturn in economic and market conditions significantly impacts the Speedy Hire assesses any changes in private sector spending as part of its
volume of sales, ongoing business and orders resulting in a contraction of the wider market analysis. The impact on Speedy Hire of any such change is
market and lower revenues. assessed as part of the ongoing financial and operational budgeting and
forecasting process.
Our strategy is to develop a differentiated proposition in our chosen markets
and to ensure that we are
well positioned with clients and contractors. The Board oversees the
importance of strategic clarity and alignment, which is seen as essential for
the setting and execution of priorities, including resource allocation.
We have disciplined cost control measures, taking decisive action during the
year where required whilst ensuring we adequately invest in our transformation
strategy and monitor implementation.
Government policy
Description and potential impact Mitigation
Changes in government policy negatively impact Speedy Hire's business, Speedy Hire assesses changes in Government policy and spending as part of its
personnel and operations resulting in increased costs and reduced margins. wider market analysis. The impact on Speedy Hire of any such change is
assessed as part of the ongoing financial and operational budgeting and
forecasting process.
The Government cancels major schemes, e.g. HS2 which impact confidence of
investors and shareholders resulting in Speedy Hire not achieving growth
targets or aspects of the Velocity strategy, and reduction in share price.
Viability Statement
The Group operates an annual planning process which includes a multi-year
strategic plan and a one year financial budget. These plans, and risks to
their achievement, are reviewed by the Board as part of its strategy review
and budget approval processes. The Board has evaluated the Group's current
position and outlook and has considered the impact of the principal risks to
the Group's business model, performance, solvency and liquidity as set out
above.
The Directors have determined that three years is an appropriate period over
which to assess the Viability Statement. Whilst the strategic plan is based on
detailed action plans developed by the Group with specific initiatives and
accountabilities, there is inherently less certainty in the projections beyond
year three in the plan. The Group secured new financing facilities of £225m
after the year end, represented by a £150m revolving credit facility ('RCF')
and a £75m private placement term loan. The RCF is in place through to April
2028, with uncommitted extension options for a further two years, and the
private placement term loan is in place through to April 2032. The strategic
plan assumes the facility will be extended to meet the Group's investment
strategies.
In making this statement, the Directors have considered the resilience of the
Group, its current position, the principal risks facing the business in
distressed but reasonable scenarios and the effectiveness of any mitigating
actions. Scenario analysis has been performed which considers a manifestation
of the principal risks that could directly impact the Group's trading
performance including, but not limited to, Market and economic conditions and
Velocity not delivering expected benefits.
The analysis assumes a significant reduction in revenue growth versus that
included in the strategic plan, while maintaining a similar cost base. The
Group is able to respond to downturns in trading and take mitigating actions
to preserve liquidity and profitability throughout the viability period.
Mitigations applied in the scenario analysis include a reduction in planned
capital expenditure and restrictions on significant overhead growth. In more
severe scenarios, the Group is able to take further capital and cost saving
measures to preserve its financial position.
Based on this assessment, the Directors have a reasonable expectation that the
Company will be able to continue in operation and meet its liabilities as they
fall due over the period to March 2028.
The going concern statement and further information can be found in note 1 of
the Financial Statements.
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. END FR GPUUWQUPAPUMRecent news on Speedy Hire
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