Former Speedy Chief Corcoran Leads Acquisition of Two U.K. Rental Firms

Steve Corcoran, former CEO of the United Kingdom’s largest equipment and tool rental company Speedy Hire, is returning to the rental industry by leading a buyout of two U.K. rental companies Fork Rent and One Call.
Aug. 26, 2015
2 min read

Steve Corcoran, former CEO of the United Kingdom’s largest equipment and tool rental company Speedy Hire, is returning to the rental industry by leading a buyout of two U.K. rental companies Fork Rent and One Call. Corcoran is working with investment groups Duke Street and Searchlight in organizing the acquisition of the two firms.

The newly created company will emerge as one of the country’s leading providers of excavators and telehandlers with annual volume of close to £70 million (about U.S. $108 million).

Fork Rent, based in Ipswich, is primarily involved in the residential construction market, while One Call, headquartered in Middlesex, has a larger presence in the infrastructure and commercial segments.

Corcoran spent 25 years at Speedy, including eight years as chief executive. He stepped  down in 2013 after revelations of financial irregularities in the company’s Middle East business.

“We have been deeply impressed by the leading market positions achieved by Fork Rent and One Call under the leadership of their founders,” said Oliver Haarmann, a founding partner of Searchlight. “Together, the companies can leverage their increased scale and strong reputation for providing best-in-class customer service to create a leading equipment rental company in the U.K. across multiple end markets and equipment types.”

Stuart McMinnies, partner in Duke Street added that “the anticipated strong growth in both the housing and infrastructure sectors will allow this business to expand in both product and geographic terms.”

About the Author

Michael Roth

Editor

Michael Roth has covered the equipment rental industry full time for RER since 1989 and has served as the magazine’s editor in chief since 1994. He has nearly 30 years experience as a professional journalist. Roth has visited hundreds of rental centers and industry manufacturers, written hundreds of feature stories for RER and thousands of news stories for the magazine and its electronic newsletter RER Reports. Roth has interviewed leading executives for most of the industry’s largest rental companies and manufacturers as well as hundreds of smaller independent companies. He has visited with and reported on rental companies and manufacturers in Europe, Central America and Asia as well as Mexico, Canada and the United States. Roth was co-founder of RER Reports, the industry’s first weekly newsletter, which began as a fax newsletter in 1996, and later became an online newsletter. Roth has spoken at conventions sponsored by the American Rental Association, Associated Equipment Distributors, California Rental Association and other industry events and has spoken before industry groups in several countries. He lives and works in Los Angeles when he’s not traveling to cover industry events.

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