Lavendon buys DK and adds 2700 lifts

The deal will boost Lavendon's Zooom rental businesses in France and Spain and give it a “market leading position” of 1400 machines and a 20% share in Belgium, which is a new country for the group. DK has 950 lifts in Spain and 350 in France. Its fleet has an average age of two years.

DK's management team will remain with the business and the DK name will continue to be used for the DK operations in all three countries, a strategy that Lavendon has used recently with its UK acquisitions.

The deal is significant because, other than in Germany, Lavendon has so far limited its acquisitions to the UK. The DK acquisition signals the start of a more aggressive growth policy in mainland Europe. Lavendon said the acquisitions would “position the group for further consolidation opportunities in those markets.”

Dirk Naessens, chief executive of DK Rental, who will be CEO of Lavendon in France and Belgium, said, “I am very pleased that we have been able to take DK Rental into the Lavendon Group family. I see this as a move that can only have a positive impact for both the staff and customers of DK Rental.”

Kurt Dobbels, will be managing director of the DK business in France, and Patrick Mutel stays as managing director of Zooom France. In Spain, DK's general manager Ivan Papell will become Lavendon Group managing director and Fernando Iglesias is managing director of Zooom Spain.

Kevin Appleton, Lavendon's chief executive, said the deal would increase the scale of its French and Spanish businesses and “will enable us to deliver improved returns from these markets. The acquisitions will also give us market leadership in the attractive Belgian market.”

Lavendon has paid €56.5 million in cash, €12.6 million in loan notes and the balance via the issue of 1.9 million new Lavendon shares. DK group reported revenues of €31.3 million for the year to 31 December 2006.