Speedy Hire – ‘insiders’ are big buyers after the HSS deal, paying up to 29.15p for shares, now 26.90p, brokers TP 57p

Mark Watson-Mitchell – 20.10.2025

If you haven’t already done so, then this could well be a really advantageous opportunity to pick up some shares in Speedy Hire (LONLSDY), the UK’s leading tools and equipment hire services group.

At the start of this month the group’s shares were trading in the 22p to 24p range, ahead of a rather shrewd ‘significant’ deal that Speedy Hire has orchestrated with the HSS Service Group.

The Business

Speedy Hire is the UK and Ireland’s leading provider of tools, specialist equipment and services.

The business supplies over 60,000 customers, employs over 3,000 people and offers over 2,500 hire product lines.

It serves its customers online and from 135 service centres and on-site locations. 

The Commercial Agreement

On Monday 6^th October, the company announced that it had entered a commercial agreement with HSS ProService, whereby it is investing in ProService Building Services Marketplace plc for £35m, funded from SDY’s existing resources.

As part of the transaction, Speedy will acquire 9.99% of ProService plc's shares, amounting to 79,368,711 shares.

The agreement, with an initial five-year term extendable to eight, grants Speedy a right of first refusal to supply ProService with core hire equipment, estimated at £50 m to £55m in annual revenue.

Speedy anticipates recouping the £35m consideration within two to three years from its operating cash flow.

Management Comment

Speedy Hire CEO Dan Evans stated that:

"This is a transformational agreement for Speedy, made possible by the progress of the Group under our Velocity growth strategy.

It will provide Speedy customers with greater choice and an enhanced service, while providing ProService customers the ability to indirectly access our national network, larger equipment fleet and faster delivery capability.

The agreement is expected to be significantly accretive to earnings and operating margin in the first full year post agreement, and gives Speedy a material opportunity for growth in the medium and longer term.

Subject to consultation, we are pleased to be able to propose around 300 jobs to new Speedy employees, who we will welcome to the business following the conclusion of formal processes."

Analyst’s Opinions

Mark Howson and Paul Richards, at Dowgate Capital, rate the group’s shares as a Buy, with a Target Price of 57p, which is more than twice the current market price.

They noted that the Speedy statement commented that the Group anticipated a full payback of the consideration from Group operating cashflow within two to three years.

The analysts view the agreement as significantly earnings enhancing.

For the current year to end-March 2026 they are looking for group sales of £461.0m (£416.6m), with adjusted pre-tax profits of £16.4m, more than doubling last year’s £8.1m figure, while earnings should leap to 2.6p (1.4p) per share.

For the 2027 year they go for £515.0m sales, £30.5m profits, with 4.9p per share of earnings.

My View

I take the view that the shares of Speedy Hire have the potential to rise at least 50% within the next year, if not even more.

I was impressed to see a number of the group’s directors have purchased a total of 600,000 shares at prices from 27.8p up to 29.15p per share in the last couple of weeks.

They know exactly what is going on inside the business – so it is a key pointer to the group’s prospects.

Now at 26.90p I consider that canny investors should take out what they can afford.

My Target Price could well be beaten very shortly.

(Profile 04.09.25 @ 24.50p set a Target Price of 30.50p)

This HSS deal looks clever!