AFI-Uplift Investment Timeline
3 June 2013
Rutland Partners is pleased to announce that on 31 May 2013 it agreed and completed the simultaneous acquisitions of AFI-Uplift in the UK, Access Rental Gulf in the Middle East and Hi-Reach in the UK, for a combined enterprise value of circa £85 million.
AFI-Uplift (“AFI”), owned by its management team and Equistone, is a leading provider of powered access equipment rental with 3,700 machines operating from 18 depots across the UK. AFI also provides complementary services including the provision of safety related training and the resale of ex fleet and third party sourced machines.
Access Rental Gulf (“ARG”), based in the United Arab Emirates, is owned by its management team and is a leading powered access equipment rental business in the Middle East with a fleet of 400 machines. Hi-Reach is a privately owned, UK based powered access equipment rental business with eight depots and a rental fleet of 1,500 machines.
AFI Acquires Altitude Access
2 December 2014
AFI has strengthened its presence in the East Midlands by acquiring Altitude Access, which has a turnover of £1.6m, a rental fleet of 180 powered access machines and a depot in Mansfield. The Altitude Access brand will be incorporated into the AFI brand.
The AFI acquisition follows a current year investment of over £10 million in over 600 new access platforms and a further expenditure of over £1 million in its delivery and service van fleets.
Latest Bolt-On for AFI
21 May 2015
AFI-Uplift has recently acquired Hampshire Plant & Access (HPA). This deal is the fifth bolt-on acquisition since Rutland first invested in the AFI Group in May 2013 when it successfully completed the simultaneous merger of three companies; AFI-Uplift and Hi-Reach in the UK and Access Rental Gulf in the Middle East.
These bolt-on transactions form part of an active business investment and expansion strategy, complementing the Group’s growth to date and other strategic initiatives, demonstrating Rutland’s continued commitment to support AFI.
