Business

Tool supplier HSS Hire to raise £13m from share sale

UK firm is in the middle of a programme which will see integration of new national distribution and engineering centre

HSS closed 18 under-performing branches in the UK in October, and has shuttered four distribution centres as part of its cost-cutting plan

Thu Dec 22 2016 - 18:48

Tool supplier HSS Hire is to raise £13 million through a share sale in order to strengthen its balance sheet and fund investment.

The firm, which was forced to issue a profit warning last month, is in the middle of a transformation programme which will see the integration of a new national distribution and engineering centre.

HSS said on Thursday: “The scale and complexity of the programme [including £12.5 million of previously announced one-off costs for the nine-month period ended October 1st, 2016], together with the ongoing investment to support revenue growth, has led the board to conclude that an equity injection would strengthen the balance sheet of the group.”

The group said last month that it expected to have fully integrated the centre within the first quarter of 2017, but warned that the extended timeline would affect core rental and revenue growth and slow its efficiency drive.

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HSS closed 18 under-performing branches in October, and has shuttered four distribution centres since mid-year as part of wide cost-cutting plans.

HSS, which has more than 300 branches across the UK employing more than 3,200, floated on the London Stock Exchange in February last year. – PA

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