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31.10.2016

Hewden debt restructuring

UK crane, access and telehandler rental company Hewden is urgently looking to re-finance around £190 million of debt which matures over the next few months.

The company has been working with restructuring experts at Deloitte, with the idea to either refinance the business or sell it. It was acquired by private equity firm Sun European, from Finning in 2010 for £110 million.

The most recent accounts on file, to the end of 2014, indicate revenues of £105.9 million with a pre-tax loss of £16.6 million. Since then we understand that the business has improved, but so far it has not yet managed to restructure its loans.

A statement from the company said: “Hewden has been impacted by market uncertainty following the vote to leave the EU. The vote has adversely affected a number of large construction and capital investment projects. The company is in constructive dialogue with stakeholders to resolve the situation in a consensual manner and is optimistic that a positive solution will be found. The company is working with its advisers Deloitte to reach agreement with lenders on an extension of its debt facilities, whilst also testing market appetite for a sale of the business.”

Vertikal Comment

Hewden has improved its business significantly over the past two years,
investing in updating its crane fleet, making several acquisitions and improving its reputation with customers thanks to increased management stability. In this year’s Cranes & Access Top 30 Rental company report Hewden is the second largest crane hire company in the UK with 141 cranes, the 18th largest powered access rental company with 802 aerial lifts in its fleet and the fourth largest telehandler company with a fleet of 970 units.

Last month requests for further information on reports of plans to sell some of the crane fleet and lay-off operators was met with no comment, and was not able to be corroborated by further reliable sources.

We will certainly follow up on the progress the company is making with its debt restructuring and its plans for the future.

Comments

Holy Grale
Hi
When I got into this addictive game, nearly 30 years ago
Hewden Stuart as they were called then, were a very respectable company and one of the big 4 .
Sadly on this day I wouldnt put them in the top 54. They see themselves as a crane player perhaps bigger than they actually are.
Did they not reckon times were still pretty turbulent when they placed the big Tadano order, and probably seems there pretty hard up and looking to bail out again, for the umpteenth time.
Yep afraid so another decent name run by pen pushing city
types.
I think its watch this space time again!!

Oct 31, 2016