Briggs UK/Ireland acquired
The UK/Ireland division of US based rental group Briggs International has been acquired from its owner Sammons Enterprises, by private equity firm, IFM Investors. Employees were informed of the change yesterday afternoon with the formal announcement arriving this morning. Originally Australian, IFM has invested more than £5 billion into UK infrastructure over the past 20 years, with investments including stakes in Manchester airport, Anglian Water and M6 Toll. Its global portfolio includes ports and freight terminals and it tends to be a long term investor. Based in Cannock, England, Briggs Group which includes Briggs Equipment has made a number of acquisitions in the powered access rental market in Ireland in recent years and is a major forklift distributor and rental company in the UK, with revenues last year in the region of £450 million.Briggs group managing director, Peter Jones said: “We are delighted to have exchanged on this transaction and to be commencing the next chapter of the Briggs group as part of IFM investors’ portfolio. Over recent years we have deliberately built a resilient and diversified platform, and this investment is a clear endorsement of both our strategy and the quality of our people."Deepa Bharadwaj, head of infrastructure Europe at IFM Investors added: “We are pleased to partner with Briggs as it enters the next stage of its development. As a well-established business operating within the infrastructure value chain, we believe Briggs is well positioned for success, and we see opportunity to support management’s growth strategy."Company backgroundBriggs Group traces its UK roots back to 2006, when Briggs Equipment in North America entered the market through the purchase of Finning’s materials handling business, initially selling Caterpillar fork trucks, before switching to a Yale dealership agreement in 2010. The group strengthened its position in 2012 with the acquisition of Barloworld Handling, adding the Hyster dealership and creating a dual-brand relationship with Hyster-Yale.A five year plan launched in 2017 marked the start of a sustained acquisition programme across the UK and Ireland, beginning with Irish Lift Trucks and followed by a series of deals including Hitec Lift Trucks, Hiremech, United Plant Services, Northern Forklift, Balloo Hire Centres, Gwynedd Forklifts, Laois Hire, JB Plant Hire and Forkway, as well as GPT and Blulift. The group also launched several new businesses, including Qualitas Asset Compliance in 2021, Asset Maintenance Services (AMS) in 2022 and Future Events Hire in Ireland.In 2023, JB Plant Hire was merged into Balloo Hire, Further consolidation followed, with Blulift merging into Aerial Platform Hire in 2024 and Hitec Lift Trucks merging into Hiremech in 2025. This brings us to present day, where equity firm IFM has now acquired Briggs Group.
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