Rental specialist Vp buys UM (Holdings) for £4.5m

National equipment rental specialist Vp plc has bought U Mole’s parent company UM (Holdings) for £4.5m. 

Cambridgshire-based U Mole has a UK-wide operation specialising in the hire and sale of trenchless installation equipment for the utility contracting markets.

It is one of the biggest players in the UK’s trenchless market, turning over around £4m.

Vp expects it to contribute around £300,000 to its profit in year one.

U Mole will operate as a separate activity within Vp’s Groundforce division, adding the trenchless option to Groundforce’s open cut shoring business. All U Mole’s employees (around 20), including the management team, are transferring with the business.

Vp chairman Jeremy Pilkington said U Mole will provide value added services and expertise which will complement Vp’s existing offering to the regulated utility sector.

Group managing director Neil Stothard said there was potential to make U-Mole’s services and equipment available through Groundforce’s other depots around the country, as and when demand required.