Plant Hire Market Report – UK 2021-2025: New Report from AMA Research

This market is extremely competitive and relatively fragmented. It ranges from national equipment rental companies to local independents operating in the market. Companies vary widely in terms of geographical coverage, financial resources, brand recognition and equipment offered. Some companies are more reliant on construction, whereas others have developed diverse markets, such as manufacturing, recycling and events.

The market experienced low level growth in 2019 as construction output slowed and concerns regarding Brexit negotiations impacted on the levels of confidence and investment.

Sectors experiencing good growth across the review period 2016 to 2019, thereby stimulating higher levels of hire demand, include infrastructure, industrial and entertainment and leisure sectors. In contrast, construction activity in some end use sectors fell significantly such as retail, offices and health. Infrastructure remains the key end use sector, although different parts of the infrastructure sector have performed differently.

The Covid-19 pandemic in 2020 significantly impacted plant hire market development, although the second lockdown did not impact hire demand as much as the first because construction and infrastructure sectors continued to operate.

Prospects for the plant hire market into the medium-term are relatively optimistic. The range of factors influencing the market are extensive and the type of plant hired will be influenced by the applications required in each end-user sector as well as wider macro-issues and other more product specific issues. Given the scale of fluctuations caused by the recent pandemic, forecasting future prospects of the plant hire market at this time is extremely difficult, exacerbated by the UK’s exit from the European Union and the possible impact this may have on the UK economy and construction levels.