Ardent Hire Solutions鈥� annual financial report, filed earlier this month, revealed that it is going through the process of selling its earthmoving fleet to focus on telehandlers (as we first reported earlier this month).
Now the company has gone public with an explanation for the change in strategy.
鈥淎rdent鈥檚 transition to a specialist equipment supplier is the result of ongoing and detailed industry analysis,鈥� it said. 鈥淎rdent are allocating investment capital to their best performing assets in a bold move away from the ever-decreasing returns of the earthmoving 蝉别肠迟辞谤.鈥�
It added: 鈥淐apital equipment costs have been rising rapidly in recent years, coinciding with a decline in rental rates. This trend is partly driven by an oversupply of equipment due to the economic slowdown, as well as by new market entrants who are aggressively pricing to capture market share.
"Additionally, the global drop in residual values for used equipment has further eroded returns.鈥�
While its gradually selling around 2,000 excavators, rollers and dumpers over the course of 2024, Ardent is investing 拢50m to freshen its fleet of more than 2,400 telehandlers. More than 750 new telehandlers will join the Ardent fleet in 2025. This includes a substantial order of telehandlers from JCB and more than 100 telehandlers and rotating telehandlers from Manitou, putting Ardent well on the way to a fleet of 200 roto telehandlers.
鈥淭he transition secures the future for both Ardent and for our customers,鈥� said Ardent chief financial officers Julian O鈥橬eill. 鈥淲ith a laser focus on this specific sector, backed by a multi-million pound investment, Ardent will be able to provide equipment and service that are second to none, setting new standards for material handling and lifting hire.鈥�
Ardent was created in 2015 through the merger of telehandler specialist Fork Rent and general plant hirer One Call Hire under private equity ownership. The strategy change effectively represents an admission of failure in the original mission, jettisoning the One Call Hire side of the business to return to the Fork Rent model.
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