Selwood completes deal for Welsh firm Proplant

National plant hirer and pump specialist the Selwood Group has completed its second acquisition in as many months with the purchase of Welsh company Proplant, for an undisclosed fee. This follows last month's purchase of South East-based Glo Hire and Sales.

The company says the recent flurry of activity doesn't indicate further rapid expansion. "We've not got a war chest or are about to set off on a large acquisition path," said managing director Chris Garrett. "Unless a very good opportunity appears, we'll look at consolidating, developing and growing what we've got, while integrating our new acquisitions and seeing how the market settles down."

Although Glo Hire was in administration at the time of the deal, Garrett maintained that wider market concerns were not a reason for companies to be pulling in their horns or refraining from expansion.

"There's still a lot of work going on and there hasn't been too much pain," he said. "We're still positive, though we're also realistic and it's not a time to over-expose yourself. That said, the key with any acquisition is the price that you pay, and we're comfortable with the price we paid, even in the current marketplace."

The Glo Hire acquisition introduces powered access equipment into the company's fleet for the first time. "We're very much a traditional, construction-related hirer and access adds another area of possible growth."