AER Rents, an O’Flaherty Holdings group company, announce the acquisition of Hudson Lifting Ltd, a leading independent provider of Hire, Sales, Service and Testing of lifting equipment in the United Kingdom.
Founded by Jeff Hudson & Danny Smalldridge in 2018, the company has grown steadily and is already considered as one of the leading providers of lifting equipment and accessories in the UK. Shortly after its inception Kevin Lewis also joined the team and the business has grown steadily from its base in East Tilbury, with the opening of further depots in Dartford and West Drayton to further support the London lifting market through its team of 23 staff.
In addition to hire, Hudson also sell a wide range of lifting equipment and accessories from leading suppliers including Tractel, Genie Industries, George Taylor, Hi-Force (HES), CMCO, Modulift and Tiger. Hudson are also able to provide bespoke, designed lifting gear solutions for one-off requirements through their in-house design team, and they can also conduct tests and thorough examinations through their LEEA qualified engineers. Jeff, Danny & Kevin will continue in their current leadership roles.
This latest exciting acquisition significantly strengthens AER Rents UK specialist services alongside Welfare 4 Hire, allowing the group to offer a widened range of products and services to its customers in tandem with the general rental offerings from Mr Plant Hire, Drogheda Hire & Sales, Mainline & Chippindale Hire & Sales. AER Rents & Hudson Lifting will execute an agreed growth plan which will see Hudson establish a UK-wide network of 12 depots over the next 5 years.
O’Flaherty Holdings is an organisation well known in Ireland, primarily through its role in the development of the Irish motor industry. Founded in the 1940s by legendary motor industry entrepreneur, the late Stephen O’Flaherty, the group continues to be owned and managed by members of the O’Flaherty family. Its subsidiaries include Motor Distributors Limited, distributors in Ireland of Mercedes-Benz passenger cars and commercial vehicles and MSL – a network of independent motor dealerships providing sales and after-sales service for Mercedes-Benz, Mazda & Skoda.
The group first invested in plant hire in 2014 with the acquisition of London-based Mr Plant Hire and in 2020 also acquired Ireland-based Drogheda Hire & Sales & Midlands-based Mainline Group. In 2021 AER Rents also purchased Welfare 4 Hire, the specialist mobile welfare provider, followed by the acquisition of Northern-based Chippindale Hire & Sales in 2022. Each business has retained its identity, while capitalising on the strengths of their collective offerings and reach across the UK and Ireland and this will continue with Hudson Lifting Ltd.
AER Rents will continue to expand its presence in the plant hire market through a combination of strategic acquisitions and organic growth, offering its customers access to a wider offering of modern products and services. The group was advised by KPMG Corporate Finance & Legal Services, Dublin, with legal support from Shoosmiths in Manchester. Hudson Lifting were supported by Nelsons Law LLP, located in Nottingham & Denmark Forrester located in Heybridge in Essex.
In a separate comment, Jeff Hudson said ‘’ This is a huge opportunity to take Hudson Lifting to the next level and truly become the UK’s most significant provider of Lifting Equipment to Hire, Purchase or Repair throughout the UK’’
