UK Market for Plant, Tool and Access Hire Expected to Show Reasonably Strong Growth Between 2007 and 2011.

DUBLIN, Ireland -- Research and Markets (http://www.researchandmarkets.com/reports/c75748) has announced the addition of Plant Hire Market Report 2007 to their offering.

The UK market for plant, tool and access hire was worth an estimated PS7.63bn in 2006. This figure was split between plant hire (which, in round figures, accounted for 70% of the market), tool hire (approximately 20%) and scaffolding and access-platform hire (10%). More exact figures for the three sectors of the market are shown within this report.

Plant hire covers the rental of capital items of plant and equipment, particularly construction plant, to professional users. Increasingly, the use of a trained and certified operator is included as part of the rental agreement. Tool hire refers to the rental of hand tools and smaller items of plant, with a large proportion of customers being small builders and the general public. There is a degree of crossover between the two markets, especially where items such as mini-excavators and access platforms are involved. Tool-hire companies are also becoming heavily involved in the supply of non-operated equipment. The best-performing sectors of the market in the short term are expected to be crane and access hire.

The construction market has shown good growth since the last edition of this report (published in 2001), but competition in the saturated UK plant-hire market has been fierce. Consolidation and a focus on core sectors are occurring throughout the industry, and growth through acquisition is the order of the day. Health-and-safety legislation has played an important role as a driver of the market for plant, tool and access hire, as has the increasing reliance on external facilities-management providers by UK businesses.

Plant utilisation in the competitive UK market needs to be around 90% -- a figure that is difficult to achieve. Most firms are investing heavily in IT systems that will allow the efficient tracking of hire items and tight control of contracts, increasing utilisation and allowing plant items to be rented well beyond the normal sales reach of a depot. Around 80% of UK construction plant is sold to the rental sector -- more than in any other country in Europe -- and UK firms have been investigating European markets with increasing interest, despite the fact that these are well served by local businesses.

The UK market for plant, tool and access hire is expected to show reasonably strong growth between 2007 and 2011, with the key UK players increasing their revenues from international markets, as well as benefiting from the improved climate for plant hire within the UK. The non-residential construction sector has been upbeat for some years now, although a number of major projects are due to be completed in the short term. In light of the increased revenues from acquisitions, Key Note expects stronger growth than UK markets would suggest, and forecasts that growth in the plant-hire sector will be between 5% and 8% in the short term. The tool-hire market is not expected to perform as strongly, and growth rates are forecast to be more in line with growth in construction, at between 3% and 4% per year.

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