UK crane rental company Dewsbury & Proud has acquired Gloucestershire, UK based Ellis Crane Hire from the Ellis family.
The changes were all formalised last Thursday – October 16th – with Tim and Jack Proud taking over as company directors from Simon, Irene and Bill Ellis. However, Simon Ellis and his team will remain on board, with no major changes planned regarding the Ellis name or how it operates. Tim Proud managing directort of Dewsbury & Proud said: "Ellis Crane Hire is an established brand with a great team, and we want to retain the name, the colours, the people and the sites. We can of course add extra support when needed.”
An introductionary meeting was held with the Ellis staff last night present those present included: - (L-R) Jack Proud, Shaun ‘Big G’ Garrett, Bill Ellis, Ken Palmer, Irene Ellis, Andy Nash, James Morris, Richie Savage, Peter ‘Mouse’ Clutterbuck, Shaun ‘Chappers’ Chapman, Christina Waters, Clive ‘Mac’ Rountree, Tanya Short, Karl Pitman, Simon Ellis, Phil Houston - with Dave the Dog, Tim Proud, Callum McTear and Jack Simmonds
Based in the village of Brookthorpe on the south side of Gloucester, Ellis Crane Hire was established in 1986 by Bill Ellis with a Kato NK 140 truck crane and formally incorporated in 2003. Although Ellis started out on his own in 1982 erecting prefabricated buildings and bought the first crane to help with his main business, he soon began renting the crane to others whe it was not in use, and somewhere along the way realised that this was a better business. Today Ellis has a fleet of around 10 cranes ranging from aluminium truck cranes up to a four axle 90 tonner. Total assets are around £3.2 million with a tangible net worth of £1.1 million. No details of the transaction have been disclosed.
Simon Ellis (L) and Tim Proud 'seal' the deal Dewsbury & Proud was founded in 1977, by Anthony Proud and Jeremy Dewsbury, and is based in Wolverhampton, with additional depots in Loughborough, Coventry and Stoke-On-Trent. The new location will fit well and add to company’s network in the English midlands.
In last year’s Top 30 UK rental companies Dewsbury & Proud reported a fleet of 50 cranes, 38 All Terrains - the largest being a five axle 250 tonne All Terrain - four pick & carry cranes and eight spider and mini crawler cranes. In its 2024 accounts, the company had assets of £17.9 million, with a tangible net worth of £9.73 million.
This move is likely to make Dewsbury & Proud the seventh largest crane rental company in the UK and Ireland.
Trev
I have an interesting coincidence with your Ellis Crane Hire story!
I am Trevor Ellis in Adelaide South Australia.
I started my Ellis Crane Hire businesss in AU in 1962. and Sold it in 1982 to Nicholes Cranes. (The largest crane hirer in Adelaide) at that time.
I built my 1st crane at age 19. It was built on a Chev Blitz. it had a latice main jib and a telescopic extension that had 40 ft at full extension.
Trev
I have an interesting coincidence with your Ellis Crane Hire story!
I am Trevor Ellis in Adelaide South Australia.
I started my Ellis Crane Hire businesss in AU in 1962. and Sold it in 1982 to Nicholes Cranes. (The largest crane hirer in Adelaide) at that time.
I built my 1st crane at age 19. It was built on a Chev Blitz. it had a latice main jib and a telescopic extension that had 40 ft at full extension.