Brandon buys in

Brandon Hire has paid £1.1m for the half-share of the six existing Brandon Tool Hire outlets within Magnet DIY stores that was previously owned by Magnet itself. The two companies had been running the in-house stores as a joint venture since late 1999.

The deal does not mean the end of the in-store concept however, as Brandon hopes to develop the idea further and more rapidly under its own management. Indeed the option to develop more hire centres in Magnet stores is part of the agreement for the sale.

Brandon chief executive Charles Skinner said that this arrangement provides the company with another way of continuing its ambitious expansion plans. "So far we have expanded through finding new locations for branches and building them up or buying other businesses. This gives us a third string to our bow."

The company aims to triple its current number of branches to 240 in the next three or four years as part of its plans to become the biggest UK tool hire company.

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