Ashtead stays top as largest plant owner

Ashtead has retained pole position as the UK's largest plant holding company with a fleet gross book value of £813m, according to the latest Plant Hire Investment Report from Catherine Stratton.
The top nine positions for 2004 are identical to the previous year with Aggreko in second spot, Hewden in third and Balfour Beatty in fourth.
The top performer was Laing O'Rourke, which jumped up six places to tenth position after its plant fleet increased in value by 47.8% to £137m.
Speedy Hire and Brandon Hire, both predominantly engaged in tool hire, continued to report above-average growth.
A number of privately owned hirers achieved revenue growth at rates ahead of the overall market. Among those are: AFI Aerial Platforms; Charles Wilson Engineers; Gap; Hydrex; John Nixon Hire; and The Platform Company.
The report also identified the top 100 plant and tool hirers, with Ashtead retaining its top position.
The biggest movers included Brandon up five places to 19th position and the Platform Company, which jumped 53 places from 2004 to take the 30th position this year.