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HSS employee loading van — Delivering
growth

Our business focuses on the ‘fit-out’, ‘maintain’ and ‘operate’ sectors of the market.
Over 90% of our revenues come from B2B clients.
Our core and specialist businesses are underpinned by our retail-like distribution network.

Core businesses £247.4m (87% of Group revenue)

Provides an extensive range of tools and equipment for hire across approximately 1,600 product lines.

Responds to customers’ specific needs for equipment not held as a part of standard product lines, working with a network of more than 400 suppliers to source approximately 2,000 equipment lines.

Provides training to meet the requirements of customers. Offers 248 industry-recognised technical and safety courses at 36 training venues throughout the UK and Ireland.

Specialist businesses £37.1m (13% of Group revenue)

We believe the Group is now the second largest provider of temporary power generation and distribution equipment and services in the UK with a well-invested fleet of Remote Fleet Management Smart Equipment generators operating under the ABird brand in England and Wales, Apex in Scotland and HSS Power in Ireland.

A specialist provider of powered access equipment operating across the UK and offering safety as standard through the addition of its award-winning anti-entrapment device Activ’ Shield Bar. The Group is the second largest provider of powered access equipment in the UK.

Under the Reintec and TecServ brands the Group offers equipment management solutions to the contract cleaning market, providing the benefits of management, maintenance, compliance and cost efficiency.

HSS network

Our unique retail-like network is key to maximising utilisation: getting the products our customers need to wherever they need them.

1 national distribution
centre
10 regional distribution
centres
25 local distribution
centres
36 training centres
>230 trading locations
>265 locations in total

Map of UK with HSS locations highlighted

Chief Executive Officer’s Review

At HSS, our customers drive everything we do. They demand Safety, Value, Availability and Support from us – and these are the common threads that run right through the fabric of our business. By investing in our people, equipment and systems, we get the very best from our operations, maximising our returns through improved efficiency and availability of our products.

Read more using the left / right arrows, or download my full strategic review.

In a highly competitive market, HSS delivered another year of excellent growth. This was driven by strong performances from all our product and service ranges as well as continued investment across our network and infrastructure.

Chris Davies
Chief Executive Officer

Chief Executive Officer’s Review

Our business creates value by:

Using our unique network to maximise the utilisation of capital equipment
Ensuring our equipment is maintained, safe and ready to use
Building long-term relationships with customers
Providing added-value specialised services in specific market areas

We are focused on delivering our three strategic priorities:

Enhance our branch network
Develop our Key Account relationships
Focused acquisitions

1. Enhance our branch network

FROM Local support

NEXT DAY PRODUCT DELIVERY, NATIONWIDE

We work hard to build great relationships with our customers. With access to HSS’ complete range of hire equipment, our Local Branches offer outstanding levels of support to both trade customers and consumers alike. Our Local Branches offer approximately 1,600 product lines (for pick-up or next-day delivery) across 23 categories, combining maximum availability and convenience with outstanding service.

TO National service

LOCAL BRANCH ROLL-OUT STRATEGY

We’re increasing our nationwide presence as we roll-out our new low-cost Local Branches. We’re currently opening a branch a week across the UK, extending our coverage and bringing the majority of UK businesses within a 15 minute drive, on average, from HSS’ vast range of equipment and unique expertise. We expect to grow the number of Local Branches to 500 over the next few years.

2. Develop our Key Account relationships

FROM Targeting growth

MAXIMISING OPPORTUNITIES

We aim to grow our share of major customers’ budgets and win signifiant new business from the ‘maintain’ and ‘operate’ segments of the market. Our network and specialist capabilities enable us to provide customers with a vast range of products and services – as well as traditional tool and equipment hire. Our knowledgeable sales force is able to cross-sell all of the Group’s capabilities, maximising the opportunities for us to grow market share.

TO Managing complexity

EMBEDDED CUSTOMER RELATIONSHIPS

We’re recognised as experts in equipment management, which is why growing numbers of customers outsource this critical role to HSS. We manage the entire equipment needs for complex supply chains on behalf of a range of customers including major facilities managers, infrastructure companies, retailers and airports. Our total equipment management services control not just HSS kit, but our customers’ own – and that of other providers; a great example of how we use our systems to drive up quality and drive down costs.

3. Focused acquisitions

FROM A stable platform

ACQUIRING COMPLEMENTARY BUSINESSES

A proven element of our growth strategy is a focus on acquisitions that complement our core offering and allow us to secure a greater share of our customers’ budgets. Over the last three years, we’ve bought several businesses with clear opportunities for driving scale. Our investment in these businesses has driven signifiant growth.

TO Generating growth

A PROVEN INTEGRATION PROCESS

Our proven 90-day plan ensures back-office disciplines are quickly integrated and investment decisions made and implemented. Typically we’ve grown the depot network of our acquisitions to ensure full coverage across the UK and Ireland, as well as investing heavily in the rental fleet itself and sales capabilities.

2014 Financial highlights

Revenue £m

£284.6m +25.5%
Adjusted EBITDA £m

£71.1m +26.7%
Core utilisation (LTM) %

47% +2.0%
Specialist utilisation (LTM) %

70% +2.0%

Core businesses

Revenue £247.4m (87% of Group revenue)

2013 £208.0m

HSS Hire: You're better equipped HSS OneCall: You're better equipped HSS Training: You're better equipped

Specialist businesses

Revenue £37.1m (13% of Group revenue)

2013 £18.6m

Logos of HSS specialist businesses

Chairman’s overview

Good corporate governance is integral to the effective operation of HSS, the security of its assets and the prudent execution of our strategy. More detail on our governance framework and policies can be found over in the Governance section of our Report, available in the downloads section below.

At HSS we believe we’re the best in the market at what we do. We have a track record of driving change, setting new industry standards and pioneering new ways of operating.

We wanted to use this early opportunity to set out our stall, outline our strategy for growth and place us on the path to best practice.

Alan Peterson
Chairman

Downloads Centre

Report of the Year 2014

Full Report

Contains all content from the strategic report, governance and financial sections.
Download PDF (3.8 Mb)
Request the print version
Strategy

CEO Chris Davies’ review of strategic priorities, performance, risks and responsibilities.
Download PDF (2.9 Mb)
Governance

Chairman Alan Peterson describes how our Board and its Committees ensure good governance.
Download PDF (301 kb)
Financial information

Information extracted from the audited 2014 financial statements of Hampshire Topco Limited.
Download PDF (304 kb)

Annual General Meeting

Our AGM is at 2.30pm on 16th June 2015 at Haberdashers’ Hall, 18 West Smithfield, London EC1A 9HA.
The Notice of AGM for this meeting can be downloaded here.