Speedy Hire Plc                                             

("Speedy Hire", "the Company" or "the Group")

17 June 2026

Audited results for the year ended 31 March 2026

Strong strategic progress and operational momentum

Speedy Hire Plc, the UK and Ireland's leading provider of tools, specialist equipment and services, announces its audited results for the year ended 31 March 2026.

Commenting on the results Dan Evans, Chief Executive, said:

"We made strong strategic progress in FY2026, gaining market share with multi-year large-scale contracts, investing to support growth and improving the operational resilience of our business model, in spite of challenging market conditions. Initial trading from our transformational Commercial Agreement⁷ with ProService⁷ has been encouraging and on track to deliver the expected significant additional revenues, as well as broadening our addressable market and accelerating the evolution of our hire fleet.

Despite uncertainty caused by global geopolitical events, the new financial year has started well and showing the benefits of high operational gearing, with secured contracts mobilising as anticipated and trading in line with market⁸ expectations. We enter FY2027 with a clear strategic focus defined by the Velocity strategy and a strengthened foundation for scalable growth, positioning Speedy Hire well to deliver sustainable long‑term value for shareholders and wider stakeholders."

Strategic and operational highlights

Financial highlights

Financial performance

Current trading and outlook

Enquiries:

Speedy Hire Plc                                                                       Tel: 01942 720 000

Dan Evans, Chief Executive

Paul Rayner, Chief Financial Officer

Teneo                                                                                       Tel: 020 7427 5494

Giles Kernick

Analyst and investor presentations

Dan Evans, CEO, and Paul Rayner, CFO, will host a presentation and Q&A for analysts today at 9:30am at the offices of Canaccord Genuity, 88 Wood Street, London, England, EC2V 7QR. For further information please contact [email protected]

Management will also be hosting an Investor Presentation and Q&A with Equity Development. The online event will be hosted by Dan Evans, CEO, and Paul Rayner, CFO, and will begin at 1:00pm on Thursday 18 June. The registration link to sign up for the webinar is: https://www.equitydevelopment.co.uk/news-and-events/speedy-hire-investor-presentation-fy-results-18th-june-2026

Notes:

Explanatory notes:

The Group believes that the non-GAAP performance measures presented in this announcement provide valuable additional information

for readers. Further details can be found in notes 6, 8 and 12.

¹ See note 8.

² See note 6.

³ Underlying operating cash flow: Cash generated from operations before changes in hire fleet and non-underlying items.

⁴ Free cash flow: Net cash flow before movement in borrowings, merger and acquisition activity, corporate activity and returns to shareholders.

⁵ See note 12. This metric excludes lease liabilities.

⁶ Leverage: Net debt⁵ to EBITDA¹. This metric excludes the impact of IFRS 16. This differs from the methodology used in the Group's banking covenants, which include certain additional EBITDA adjustments, and is therefore not directly comparable to covenant leverage.

⁷ On 6 October 2025 the Company's subsidiary Speedy Asset Services Limited ("SASL") entered into a comprehensive commercial hire and services supply agreement with HSS ProService Limited ("ProService"), a subsidiary of  ProService Building Services Marketplace plc ("ProService plc") ("Commercial Agreement") and ProService plc's subsidiary at that time, HSS Service Group Limited, agreed to sell certain assets to SASL and ProService plc agreed to issue to the Company 79,368,711 of its shares (together the "ProService Transaction").

⁸ Market expectations for FY2027 refer to the analyst consensus compiled by the Company, which as at the date of this announcement stands at Revenue of £475.3m and adjusted EBITDA of £117.3m.

Inside Information: This announcement contains inside information for the purposes of the Market Abuse Regulation (Regulation (EU) No. 596/2014) as it forms part of domestic law in the United Kingdom by virtue of the European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018.

Forward looking statements:  The information in this release is based on management information. This report includes statements that are forward looking in nature. Forward looking statements involve known and unknown risks, assumptions, uncertainties and other factors which may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of the Group to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward looking statements. Except as required by the Listing Rules and applicable law, the Company undertakes no obligation to update, revise or change any forward looking statements to reflect events or developments occurring after the date of this report.

Notes to Editors: Founded in 1977, Speedy Hire is the UK's leading provider of tools and equipment hire services to a wide range of customers in the construction, infrastructure, industrial, and support services markets, as well as to local trade, and retail. The Group provides complementary support services through the provision of training, asset management and compliance services. Speedy is certified nationally to ISO50001, ISO9001, ISO14001, ISO17020*, ISO27001 and ISO45001. The Group operates from 128 Service Centres and on-site locations across the UK and Ireland and through a joint venture in Kazakhstan. *Lloyds British National Contracts only.

Overview

The Group's results for FY2026 are set against a backdrop of continued macro‑economic uncertainty and subdued activity levels across some of our end markets. Despite this challenging environment we remain committed to our investment plans and the Board is pleased with the strategic and operational progress delivered during the final year of the Enable phase of our Velocity strategy. These actions support future efficiencies and have reshaped the business, strengthening our operational platform and positioning Speedy Hire to capitalise on current and future growth opportunities particularly when market conditions improve.

A defining milestone in the year was the transformational Commercial Agreement⁷ entered into with ProService⁷. This agreement represents a material strategic step forward for Speedy Hire, broadening our addressable market, accelerating the evolution of our hire fleet and enhancing the Group's long‑term earnings profile. Importantly, it demonstrates the value of the technological and operational investments made over recent years and reinforces the Board's confidence in the strategic direction of the Group, as we move into the Deliver phase of our Velocity strategy.

Results

Group revenue for the year was impacted by the continued softness in our markets; however we continued to gain market share, particularly within our National customer base, securing several significant multi-year contracts. This resulted in an adjusted loss before tax¹ of £9.8m (FY2025: £8.7m profit), reflecting the downside of high operational gearing and elevated financing costs following targeted investment to support new business, with benefits from these actions expected to build over time.

Despite these short‑term pressures, underlying operating cash flow³ remained strong, demonstrating the resilience of the Group's business model and supporting the Board's confidence in future deleveraging.

The Group continues to operate internationally through its joint venture in Kazakhstan. Recently, a new multi-year contract has been secured with our partner to replace the previously completed contracts, giving confidence for growth in this geography.

ProService

The ProService Transaction⁷ represents a transformational step for Speedy Hire. The Commercial Agreement is closely aligned to the Group's strategy, enhancing the utilisation of our existing asset base and providing a platform for sustainable growth over the medium-term. This deal was only made possible by the investment in our technology and operational platform under the Velocity Strategy.

Initial trading since completion in November 2025 has been encouraging, with integration progressing positively. This supports our unchanged expectations of £50-55m of annualised revenue and significant earnings accretion in the first full year post‑integration. The Commercial Agreement also enables accelerated rationalisation and evolution of the Group's hire fleet, reducing future capital intensity and enhancing returns over the medium-term.

The ProService Transaction was funded through the Group's existing resources and recently refinanced facilities. While leverage has temporarily increased beyond the Group's target range, the Board remains confident that strong cash generation will support meaningful deleveraging over the next 12-24 months.

Capital allocation and dividend

During the year, the Board reaffirmed its disciplined capital allocation framework, balancing investment for long‑term growth with sustainable returns to shareholders. In light of the ProService Transaction, the Board reaffirmed a target leverage⁶ range of 1.0x-2.0x EBITDA through the cycle, with flexibility for short‑term deviation where strategic opportunities justify it.

Speedy Hire understands the importance of dividend payments to its shareholders and, in line with the previously announced dividend rebasing to help fund the ProService Transaction, the Board is recommending a final dividend of 0.70 pence per share for FY2026, bringing the total dividend for the year to 1.00 pence per share. It continues to be our intention to grow this by at least 5% per annum for each of FY2027 and FY2028, returning to historical levels in line with earnings thereafter.

Board and people

During the year, Rob Barclay stepped down as a Non‑Executive Director, having served on the Board since 2016. On behalf of the Board, I would again like to thank Rob for his significant contribution, including his leadership of the Remuneration and Sustainability Committees.

As previously announced, David Garman will step down from the Board at the forthcoming AGM, and Rhian Bartlett assumed the role of Senior Independent Director following the 2025 AGM. I would like to thank David for his wise counsel and significant contribution to the Board throughout his tenure and wish him well for the future.

In March 2026, the Company announced a planned succession in the role of Chief Financial Officer. Paul Rayner indicated that he would be retiring from executive life and would step down from his role following an orderly handover period, with Judith Cottrell being appointed to the Board with effect from 1 July 2026 and Paul stepping down from the Board on that date. Succession planning had been ongoing for some time and the Board is confident that this transition will ensure continuity, discipline and strong financial leadership as the Group enters the next phase of its Velocity strategy. On behalf of the Board and personally I would like to thank Paul for his dedication and commitment to the business and wish him well in his non-executive life.

On behalf of the Board and personally, I would like to thank each and every one of my colleagues across the Group for their continuing commitment and dedication throughout what has been a challenging year for the business.

Future

As Speedy Hire enters the Deliver phase of its Velocity strategy, the Board is encouraged by the quality and multi-year scale of the Group's contract base; the momentum from the ProService Transaction and the increasing resilience and flexibility of the Group's operating model. The Board also recognises the uncertain global geopolitical landscape and continues to assess any potential implications for the Group. At this time, we have not identified or observed any significant effects on our operations and will maintain close oversight and react swiftly as circumstances dictate. Initial trading in FY2027 has shown growth alongside the benefit of high operational gearing and we look forward with increasing confidence in the Group's ability to deliver sustainable growth and value creation over the medium-term.

David Shearer

Chairman

Overview

The financial year ended 31 March 2026 was an important year for Speedy Hire as we completed the Enable phase of our Velocity strategy and strengthened the foundations of the Group for growth. This progress was delivered against a challenging economic backdrop, which continued to influence customer behaviour and market conditions throughout the year.

Our focus remains on disciplined execution. We are concentrating on improving the efficiency and resilience of the business, embedding the systems, reporting, data and AI capabilities needed to support scalable growth, while maintaining strong operational control. Although demand remained mixed, the Group made clear strategic progress and enters FY2027 well positioned for growth.

Trading performance and market conditions

Market conditions remained challenging throughout FY2026, with widely reported delays to project starts and cautious customer behaviour continuing to impact overall activity levels, particularly affecting our Regional customer base. Against this backdrop, we made good progress in gaining market share, particularly with National customers, securing significant long‑term framework agreements, including Thames Water, which are expected to provide incremental growth as mobilisations progress.

Our Trade and Retail operations remained profitable, although demand was constrained by weaker market conditions. We continue to evaluate expansion opportunities in this channel, consistent with our Velocity strategy, and remain encouraged by the underlying customer engagement and long‑term potential of the model. We also serve a number of these customers, through the ProService Commercial Agreement⁷, again demonstrating the business' evolution and capability to serve customers through an alternate technology channel made possible by our Velocity strategy.

Speedy Hire's national scale, specialist capabilities and operational flexibility continued to be important differentiators. Our ability to support customers across large, complex projects while maintaining responsive local service enabled us to remain closely aligned to customer needs.

During the year, we took the opportunity to restructure our Lloyds British business, bringing in new management and disposing of the loss-making manufacturing part of the business. This has resulted in sharper focus on the growth of our higher margin TIC business.

Our joint venture in Kazakhstan experienced a continuation of the downturn in performance due to the conclusion of major contracts. These contracts have however been replaced by new, long-term contracts secured with our partner, giving confidence for future growth.

Strategy

FY2026 marked the completion of the Enable phase of our Velocity strategy delivered on time and on budget. Over the last three years, we have invested c.£20m in transforming the business, focused on strengthening the operating platform, modernising our systems, improving efficiency and leveraging data to drive enhanced customer service visibility, operational control and readiness for capitalising on growth opportunities.

During the year, we completed the rollout of a number of major digital and operational initiatives, including customer relationship management, customer service workflows, transport and logistics optimisation and the modernisation of our telephony and engineering platforms, as well as the launch of our new trading website. These changes are improving operational visibility and efficiency, supporting better decision‑making and delivering a more consistent experience for customers and colleagues.

Importantly, the work completed during the Enable phase provides a stable and scalable foundation from which to drive growth, while maintaining the operational discipline required in uncertain market conditions. We are excited to move forward into the Deliver phase of the strategy in FY2027, focussing now on delivering long-term sustainable growth. 

Commercial Agreement with ProService

We were delighted to announce completion of the ProService Transaction⁷, under which Speedy Hire has secured a right of first refusal to supply ProService⁷ with core hire equipment and testing, inspection and certification services through our Lloyds British business. The ProService Transaction also included the transfer of certain assets, the assignment of new service centres and an equity investment in ProService plc⁷.

The Commercial Agreement represents a transformational milestone for Speedy Hire and is a direct outcome of the enabling investments made under the Velocity strategy, particularly in technology, data, AI and operational capability. The transaction also accelerates the evolution of our hire fleet, supporting a more efficient capital profile over the medium-term while enhancing the service offering available to customers across both organisations.

Mobilisation has progressed in line with expectations, with a view to contributing £50-55m of annualised revenue and significant earnings accretion in FY2027, the first full financial year following a period of integration. Speedy Hire also still anticipates a full payback of the consideration from operating cash flow in two to three years, excluding any potential cash returned from its interest in ProService plc. As volumes increase and additional services are introduced, namely the planned inclusion of Lloyds British TIC services being made available to ProService customers, revenues under the Commercial Agreement are expected to become an increasingly important contributor to Group performance.

Overall, the Commercial Agreement marks a step‑change in scale through a new customer channel for Speedy Hire and gives early momentum to the Deliver phase, offering clear validation of the Velocity strategy and demonstrating the strength and adaptability of our operating model.

Customers, channels and growth focus

Beyond ProService, our priorities remain unchanged. We continue to focus on sectors aligned with long‑term national investment, including infrastructure, energy, rail, water and regulated utilities, where demand is supported by multi‑year programmes and where our scale and specialist capability are most relevant.

Our operating model continues to evolve in order to best serve our customer demands. Customers increasingly expect flexibility in how they access hire and services, and our combination of service centres, on‑site solutions,  digital platforms and partnerships positions us well to meet their expectations while maintaining a consistent and reliable proposition.

People, safety and sustainability

Our people remain central to the delivery of our strategy. Through our People First approach, we continue to invest in colleague engagement, skills development and leadership capability, supporting a culture rooted in safety, accountability and performance.

Safety is a core value across the Group and fundamental to how we operate. Ongoing investment in training, systems and fleet technology continues to strengthen our safety culture, supporting continuous improvement and reinforcing trust with colleagues, customers and communities.

Sustainability is also an integral part of our strategy and customer proposition. Demand for lower‑emission, compliant and efficient solutions continues to grow, particularly across infrastructure and energy markets. Our expanding eco fleet and the development of our carbon and nature reporting capabilities support customers in meeting their sustainability objectives, while reinforcing Speedy Hire's position as a responsible and reliable partner, with commercially sustainable solutions.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank all colleagues for their continued hard work and dedication to the business, whilst continuing to deliver a first-class service to our customers.

Outlook

The new financial year has started well, with secured contracts mobilising as anticipated and trading in line with the market expectations. At this early stage, revenues to the end of May are c.2% ahead of the comparative period. Previously announced customer led delays are resolving and the related projects will contribute meaningfully during the first half. Adjusted EBITDA¹ for the same period is c.13% ahead, the direct result of the effect of operational gearing and disciplined cost control.

While near‑term market conditions remain uncertain, particularly in light of global geopolitical events, the strategic progress made and contracts secured in FY2026, mean the Group enters FY2027 with a solid foundation for scalable growth as we move into the next phase of our Velocity strategy. With a strengthened operating platform, a disciplined approach to capital allocation and a clear strategic focus, the Group is well positioned to deliver sustainable long‑term value for shareholders and wider stakeholders.

Dan Evans

Chief Executive

Group financial performance

Total revenue for the year ended 31 March 2026 was £416.1m (FY2025: £416.6m), reflecting subdued hire volumes with our Regional customers, offset by resilient performance from National customers and the Commercial Agreement⁷ with ProService⁷. Trade and Retail revenue increased year on year, although growth remained below initial expectations given market conditions. Revenue from planned disposals of hire equipment were £10.9m (FY2025: £3.6m), primarily associated with the divestment of specialist compressors.

During the year, the Group undertook depot closures and management restructuring to optimise the operating footprint and reduce the underlying cost base, supporting future efficiency gains, with annualised cost savings of c.£5.0m expected.

Gross profit was £230.5m (FY2025: £236.1m), with gross margin of 55.4% (FY2025: 56.7%), impacted by a decrease in average hire rates and margin in our Customer Solutions business following the high value transaction with ProService.

Adjusted EBITDA¹ for the year was £85.4m (FY2025: £97.1m), after accounting for non-cash share based payments of £1.8m (FY2025: £0.9m), and the Group reported an adjusted loss before taxation¹ of £9.8m (FY2025: £8.7m profit). Performance reflects high operational gearing in a subdued revenue environment alongside increased financing costs following investment to support the ProService Transaction⁷ and contracts won.

After non‑underlying items, the Group reported a loss after taxation of £26.6m (FY2025: £1.1m loss).

Early trading in FY2027 has been promising with revenue and adjusted EBITDA to the end of May, c.2% and c.13% ahead of FY2026 respectively, with adjusted EBITDA significantly benefitting from high operational gearing as marginal movements in hire revenue have a disproportionately large impact on profitability.

Revenue and margin analysis

The Group generates revenue through two categories, Hire and Services.

Hire revenues were held back by a challenging market. A strong performance with our National customers offset some volume decline in our Regional customer base while average rates have declined due to the significant increase in volume activity with ProService and mix with our National customers.

Services revenues (excluding fuel) increased 4.9% on FY2025, driven by growth in both Customer Solutions and Lloyds British TIC services. Divestment of the manufacturing division of Lloyds British represents a revenue loss of £3.6m from FY2025, with negligible profit impact.

During the year, the Group entered into a commercial agreement for third party fuel order fulfilment, on which the Group recognise only a margin element. As a result, fuel revenues declined by 47.5% (£14.3m decrease from FY2025), although with a minimal gross profit impact.

The Group continues to monitor pricing, introducing increases to mitigate the effects of cost inflation on both overheads and new equipment purchases.

Gross margin decreased by 1.3pp to 55.4% (FY2025: 56.7%). Hire margin decreased to 79.5%, the result of lower average hire rates following the ProService Transaction. Services margin decreased to 17.7%, due to a higher proportion of lower margin Customer Solutions revenue.

Utilisation of itemised assets was 55.4% (FY2025: 53.9%), an increase of 1.5pp on FY2025 benefitting from the additional activity through ProService.

Overheads

The overheads (excluding non-underlying items) disclosed in the Income Statement can be further analysed as follows:

Disciplined cost management remains a key priority, balanced against the need to invest in the business to enable growth as part of our Velocity strategy. Underlying overheads increased by £9.3m (4.4%) year on year, with over one third of this attributable to the increase in national insurance and national living wage costs, with the majority of the remainder being the net increase in costs taken on as part of the ProService Transaction.

We have observed an improvement in bad debts during the year, which has resulted in a reduction in the impairment of trade receivables to £2.1m (FY2025: £2.6m), although we remain mindful of ongoing macroeconomic uncertainty.

Closing headcount was 0.8% higher than March 2025, with average headcount 0.5% lower due to transformation and restructuring initiatives undertaken in the year, offset by the net increase of colleagues joining the business from TUPE transfers in and out as part of the ProService Transaction.

Non-underlying items

FY2026 represents the third and final year of the Enable phase of our Velocity strategy. Incremental costs in respect of the investment in implementing this strategy, and executing our transformation programme, represent a significant cost to the business over the initial phases of the programme. This resulted in non-underlying costs in the year of £6.3m (FY2025: £6.6m). As communicated in the FY2024 annual report, we signalled that the total expected cost of the Enable phase of Transformation was anticipated to be between £19m and £22m, of which £13m to £15m was expected to be non-underlying. The total reported costs relating to the Enable phase are £20.5m, of which £16.1m were treated as non-underlying. Given the conclusion of the Enable strategic phase, there will be no further transformation related non-underlying items during FY2027, representing a significant cash saving in future years.

An additional £3.6m relates to restructuring undertaken as part of the Velocity transformation programme. These actions were accelerated by the conclusion of the Enable phase of transformation and the completion of the ProService Transaction and concerned the execution of the remaining, significant, "Future State" activities, resulting in the closure of 13 locations, and a related reduction in headcount. In addition, changes to key management and support structures have been implemented to align the organisation to the Group's long-term operating model, resulting in further headcount reduction. Collectively, these actions are expected to deliver annualised cost savings of c.£5.0m and have streamlined the business, creating a more efficient platform to support growth.

In August 2025 the Group disposed of the non-core manufacturing division of Lloyds British, generating a loss on disposal of £2.6m, presented within non-underlying items due to the infrequent nature of such transactions. Restructuring of the Lloyds British business followed, resulting in £0.2m of additional costs.

Following the completion of the ProService Transaction on 17 November 2025, third party advisors were engaged to assist in a valuation exercise to allocate the consideration paid. This resulted in the initial recognition of the following items, the most significant of which related to the Right of First Refusal ("ROFR") within the Commercial Agreement:

Overall, the above results in a gain on bargain purchase of £0.1m, which is presented within non-underlying items. Following initial recognition, depreciation and amortisation are charged on the hire fleet assets and intangible asset respectively and the investment in ProService plc⁷ is revalued at each balance sheet date, with fair value movements going through the profit and loss account.  Further information is included in note 16.

Further to the above, but separate from the consideration paid, significant legal and professional costs have been incurred relating to the ProService Transaction. These have been presented as non-underlying items owing to the scale and rarity of a transaction such as this. Such costs were £5.0m in FY2026.

Further detail on non-underlying items can be found in note 3.

Interest and banking facilities

The Group's finance costs increased to £18.6m (FY2025: £15.9m). Excluding interest on lease liabilities, the net financial expense was £11.1m (FY2025: £9.5m) reflecting higher average gross borrowings following the completion of the ProService Transaction and continued investment in our hire fleet to support growth in our existing and more recently won contracts.

The Group's facilities of £225.0m comprise a £150.0m revolving credit facility ("RCF") and a £75.0m private placement term loan. The refinancing replaced the Group's prior £180.0m asset based lending facility. The RCF has a three year maturity with options to extend up to a further two years and the private placement term loan has a seven year maturity. The RCF is priced based on SONIA plus a variable margin, while any unutilised commitment is charged at 35% of the applicable margin. The price on the private placement term loan is fixed for the duration of the facility. During the period, the margin payable on the outstanding debt fluctuated between 2.20% and 2.70%. The effective average margin in the period was 2.42% (FY2025: 2.14%).

The Group's financing facilities include quarterly leverage⁶ and fixed charge cover covenant tests. In preparation for entering into the ProService Transaction, the Group agreed short-term amendments to the fixed charge cover covenant for the quarters ended 30 September 2025 and 31 December 2025, subsequent to which the covenants reverted to their original levels. Further, short-term, amendments were agreed to both covenant tests prior to the year end, in anticipation of slower deleveraging than originally anticipated. The covenant tests for quarterly leverage and fixed charge cover return to their original levels at September 2026 and December 2026 respectively.

The Group utilises interest rate hedges to manage risk associated with movements in interest rates. As a result of the refinancing, the fixed interest term loan limits the Group's exposure to significant fluctuations in rates, therefore reducing hedging requirements. The fair value of interest rate hedges was £nil at 31 March 2026 (FY2025: £0.1m liability).

Interest on lease liabilities of £7.5m (FY2025: £6.4m) was charged during the period, impacted by sizeable

property lease extensions and new vehicle leases during the period.

Taxation

The Group seeks to protect its reputation as a responsible taxpayer and adopts an appropriate attitude to arranging its tax affairs, aiming to ensure effective, sustainable and active management of tax matters in support of business performance.

The tax credit for the year was £5.7m (FY2025: £0.4m credit), with an effective tax rate of 17.6% (FY2025: 26.7%). Adjusting for the impact of non-underlying items, amortisation of acquired intangibles and fair value movements on financial assets, the effective tax rate for FY2026 was 18.4% (FY2025: 24.1%).

Shares and earnings per share

At 31 March 2026, 516,983,637 Speedy Hire Plc ordinary shares were outstanding (FY2025: 516,983,637), of which 55,141,657 were held in Treasury (FY2025: 55,141,657), with 802,874 held in the Employee Benefit Trust (FY2025: 1,329,911).

Adjusted loss per share² was 1.71 pence (FY2025: 1.41 pence (earnings)). Basic loss per share² was 5.77 pence (FY2025: 0.24 pence).

Balance sheet

Total capital expenditure during the year, excluding the investment made as part of the ProService Transaction, was £56.3m (FY2025: £63.2m), reflecting a year on year reduction in response to challenging market conditions and acknowledging the significant investment made in our hire fleet over the past few years, particularly in specialist product categories.  

Hire fleet additions in the year were £53.0m (FY2025: £57.5m). Of our investment in hire fleet, 67% related to carbon efficient eco products (FY2025: 71%) as we continue to support customers with their decarbonisation strategies. Expenditure on non-hire property, plant and equipment of £3.3m (FY2025: £5.7m) represents continued investment in our properties and IT capabilities.

Total proceeds from disposal of hire equipment were £19.6m (FY2025: £13.2m). This was driven primarily by the planned divestment of specialist compressors, as part of the overall project to bring greater focus to our fleet of owned assets.  

The Group's hire fleet, including those assets acquired as part of the ProService Transaction, is well invested and therefore requires a lower level of investment during FY2027. We anticipate gross hire fleet capex in the region of £35.0m for FY2027, a year on year reduction of 34.0%, with the primary focus being on core equipment and certain specialist products.

Net property, plant and equipment (excluding IFRS 16 right of use assets) was £257.4m as at 31 March 2025 (FY2025: £243.3m), of which equipment for hire represents 93.0% (FY2025: 91.4%). 

Intangible assets increased significantly to £56.0m (FY2025: £38.4m), due to the addition of the ROFR intangible asset, marginally offset by amortisation.

Right of use assets of £108.8m (FY2025: £104.2m) and corresponding lease liabilities of £114.4m (FY2025: £105.9m) have increased due to extensions on strategically important property leases and new vehicle leases to support the move to a lower carbon fleet, which were offset in part by planned depot closures and consolidations. 

Gross trade receivables increased to £108.7m at 31 March 2026 (FY2025: £97.9m), the result of increased trading in the final quarter with ProService. Bad debt and credit note provisions were £4.0m as at 31 March 2026 (FY2025: £2.9m), equivalent to 3.7% of gross trade receivables (FY2025: 3.0%). In setting the provisions the Directors have given specific consideration to the impact of macro-economic uncertainties. Whilst the Group has not experienced a significant worsening of debt collections or debt write-offs to 31 March 2026, there remain some indications of continued economic vulnerability and risk of insolvencies and therefore we continue to monitor the situation closely.

Debtor days as at 31 March 2026 were 71 days (FY2025: 66 days, HY2026: 62 days). Trade payables as at 31 March 2026 were £76.0m (FY2025: £54.1m). Creditor days were 78 days (FY2025: 61 days, HY2026: 69 days), the result of continued collaboration with suppliers to more closely align our working capital cycle and the negotiation of favourable terms for some significant hire fleet capex purchases.

Cash flow and net debt

Underlying operating cash flow³ for the year was £87.4m (FY2025: £91.8m), representing 102.3% (FY2025: 94.5%) conversion from EBITDA. Free cash flow⁴ is a key metric for the Group and in the year was £3.0m (FY2025: £0.8m), the result of necessary effective working capital management and reduced hire fleet investment to offset continued investment in our transformation programme and softer trading performance.

Net debt⁵ increased by £45.9m from £113.1m at the beginning of the year to £159.0m at 31 March 2026, due to the investment made as part of the ProService Transaction. As a result, leverage⁶ increased to 3.3 times (FY2025: 1.9 times), which is temporarily outside of the Group's target range communicated as part of the FY2025 annual results. This follows the continued investment in the hire fleet, transformation of the business (including the ProService Transaction) and returns to shareholders during the year. Total net debt, including lease liabilities, was £273.4m (FY2025: £219.0m), resulting in post IFRS 16 leverage of 3.2 times (FY2025: 2.3 times).

The Group maintained compliance with its banking covenants and retained substantial headroom within its committed bank facility, with cash and undrawn facility availability of £36.0m as at 31 March 2026 (FY2025: £42.0m). 

Capital allocation policy

The Board is committed to maintaining an efficient balance sheet and regularly reviews the Group's capital resources and allocation policy to ensure that it meets our strategic objectives. We have a clear capital allocation approach to ensure a balance between investment in the business for long-term sustainable success and the creation of returns to shareholders.

Our disciplined approach to capital allocation through the business cycle reflects the following objectives:

The Board continues to believe that a strong balance sheet through the cycle will allow the Group to take full advantage of opportunities that arise.

Dividend

The Board has proposed a final dividend for FY2026 of 0.70 pence per share (FY2025: 1.80 pence per share) to be paid on 2 October 2026 to shareholders on the register on 21 August 2026. This follows the planned reduction in dividend payments for a period up to the end of FY2028, as announced on 6 October 2025, to part fund the ProService Transaction. The Board will then look to return dividends to historical levels in line with future earnings growth.

The cash cost of this dividend is expected to be c.£3.2m. This takes the total dividend for FY2026 to 1.00 pence per share (FY2025: 2.60 pence per share), following an interim dividend of 0.30 pence per share (FY2025: 0.80 pence per share).

A Dividend Reinvestment Plan ("DRIP") is provided by Equiniti Financial Services Limited. The DRIP enables the Company's shareholders to elect to have their cash dividend payments used to purchase the Company's shares. More information can be found at http://www.shareview.co.uk/info/drip

Paul Rayner

Chief Financial Officer