uk.superbrands.com Superbrands UK Vol. 24 Market Sunbelt Rentals is a trading name of FTSE 100, Ashtead Group plc, an international equipment rental company with networks in the UK, Europe, US and Canada. In 2021, it generated annual revenues of just under $8bn, from a fully owned rental fleet of more than 900,000 assets. Its 22,000 employees provide the widest range of rental products, services and solutions to more than 800,000 customers, covering every role from a skilled tradesman to a major project director. Its integrated rental solutions are uniquely deployed into each of the markets in which it operates. This includes Construction, Energy, Infrastructure, Industrial, Manufacturing, Data Centres, Government, Facilities Management, Sports & Music Events and Media Production. In the UK, Sunbelt Rentals currently holds a 10% market share and has 4,100 employees (Source: Ashtead Annual report, market share is a management estimate based on IHS Markit market estimates). Achievements Sunbelt Rentals’ UK revenue saw a 20% growth in FY22, growing 61% over the past five years. It has an enviable awards cabinet and is annually recognised across the markets it serves. Highlights in 2022 include ROPSA Gold Award for the 11th year in a row, FORS Gold for the fifth year in a row, Event Hire Company of the Year at the Hire Association Europe awards and Best Barrier, Best Plant Equipment as well as Best Temporary Roadway at the Event Production Awards. Sunbelt recently won a five-year contract to support and supply a range of Energy Solutions to a global client across Europe, opening its first large-scale Energy Solutions depot, located in Rotterdam in October 2022. History Ashtead Plant Hire Company Ltd (A-Plant) was founded in 1947 in Ashtead, Surrey. The business grew and in 1984, Ashtead Group plc was formed with revenues of £1m. Two years later, Ashtead Group plc was listed on the London Stock Exchange. In 1990, Ashtead acquired Sunbelt Rentals in the US. Then, in 2000, Ashtead acquired Rentokil Initial plc, doubling the size of the company in North America. 2006 saw Sunbelt acquire NationsRent Inc. and become the second-largest rental company in the US. In 2014, Sunbelt entered the Southwest Canadian market by acquiring GWG Rentals and in 2017 it doubled the size of its Canadian business acquiring CRS. Its Canadian operation expanded into the film production sector in 2019 with the acquisition of William F. White. More recently, in 2020, A-Plant rebranded as Sunbelt Rentals in the UK. Then in 2022, Sunbelt Rentals UK acquired film production specialists Movietech, PKE lighting and Media Access Solutions. Product Sunbelt Rentals’ UK operation is the largest in its sector. It provides a wide breadth of rental equipment and deep expertise across specialist business teams that can; access, survey, test, detect, protect, manage, secure, support, connect, lift, move, dig, compact, drill, build, power, light, heat, cool and film. Sunbelt Rentals can provide a fully managed service encompassing the design, planning, installation and project management of major projects providing safe and sustainable solutions. This includes maintenance, telematic insights and customer success analytics. Recent Developments Previously known as A-Plant in the UK, during the period 2010 to 2020 it acquired many leading ‘bolt on’ rental businesses, historically retaining the autonomy and identity of each brand by adopting a ‘House of Brands’ hierarchy. In 2021, to improve brand reach, visibility and operational efficiencies, these brands and operational duplications were dissolved to culturally align and create one unified team under one global brand, Sunbelt Rentals. When the world went into lockdown, Sunbelt had the opportunity to demonstrate its agility to respond, pledging its customer promise to ‘Make it happen’. At the request of the UK Government, Sunbelt Rentals delivered the first temporary Covid-19 testing centres, a precision operation pulling together colleagues and equipment from across the business to build the sites, with some fully operational in as little as 48 hours. As a result of this success, Sunbelt was commissioned to design and deliver a total of 600 testing centres nationwide throughout the pandemic.
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