Lavendon see turnover rise by 37% for last five months to May

Powered access rental group Lavendon (parent company of Nationwide, The Platform Company and many others) has seen turnover for the five months to the end of May grow by 37% in comparison to the same period last year.

In a pre-close trading update the company said operating margins were ‘continuing to improve’.

UK turnover was up by 30% for the period and benefited from the acquisition of The Platform Company at the start of April. The statement continued: “Operating margins remain healthy, benefiting from the increase in scale of the overall UK business.”

In Germany turnover declined by 4% following the merger of the two German operations but the fall in the value of sterling translated this to a 5% increase. The company said turnover is now improving as is operating margin as annualised synergies of £2.5m are realised.

Turnover for the Group’s French and Belgian businesses increased by 307% following the acquisition of DK Rental and are said to be delivering improvements in operating margins. The same is true for Spain, where DK Rental also operate, with turnover up 175%.

Rental income in the Middle East increased by 33% - far ahead of new equipment sales.

The group said it is comfortable with its increased level of debt, caused by the acquisition of The Platform Company, and trading remains in line with our expectations. Half year results are published on 29 August.