The nominal £1 deal for the loss-making hire and builders’ merchant service of 130 depots includes a £26m payment from HSS to fund separation and restructuring.

It marks a big change in direction for HSS which is now breaking with its asset heavy plant roots to concentrate on its ProService digital platform which hooks up suppliers with customers.

To strengthen this new market position, HSS also today announced a £35m strategic partnership with Speedy Hire.

Under this separate deal Speedy will become principal equipment supplier to the ProService marketplace for at least five years, with an option to extend to eight.

Speedy will also take a near 10% stake in the newly-renamed group ProService Building Services Marketplace plc and acquire around £35m of hire assets, including equipment and depot leases.

Around 300 hire service company staff will transfer to Speedy, while 100 Speedy employees will move to ProService to manage re-hire and resale operations routed through the marketplace.

Executive chairman Steve Ashmore said the deal marked a turning point for HSS: “This transformational agreement with Speedy Hire marks a major milestone in scaling our marketplace business.

“It allows us to focus solely on our asset-light model, unlocking significant value for shareholders and customers. With increased scale and breadth, the business is now well positioned for profitable growth.”

The sale and rebrand complete a multi-year restructuring that has seen HSS divest its power businesses, its Irish arm, and now its UK hire operation.

The group will emerge as a pure-play digital marketplace, connecting contractors to a wide range of tools, materials, training, and building-services suppliers via its proprietary “Brenda” technology platform.

The Speedy partnership is expected to boost margins and earnings by replacing internal supply from the HSS hire service with a more efficient procurement model, while also expanding revenue from Speedy’s re-hire, resale and training services routed through the ProService platform.

Completion of all transactions is expected by 31 December 2025, subject to shareholder and CMA approval.

This morning HSS Hire reported a £130m pre-tax loss for the 15 months to March 2025 after a major restructuring to split the group into the two separate operations.

This was largely down to a £114m impairment charge against the hire service business.

Turnover rose to £379m from £312m due to the longer reporting period, but on a like-for-like 12-month basis sales fell 5% to £298m as the loss of the Amey contract and weaker markets hit performance.