The firm, which has suffered a string of setbacks since revealing trading problems at its Middle East business two years ago, will now streamline its overhead base and operational structure.

In a trading statement this morning, Jan Åstrand, Executive Chairman, said: “Following the extremely disappointing start to the year, we have taken action to grow revenue and cut costs.

“Whilst these actions will take time to come to fruition, we believe they will deliver material benefits over the medium term.”

Current year core hire revenue in the UK and Ireland is now expected to be 10% below the prior year.

The board warned that profitability would be weighted towards the second half of the year and would be materially below current market expectations.

In July, Speedy chief executive officer Mark Rogerson, stepped down after just 18 months in the job, after a board review uncovered a poorer revenue performance than expected due to a lack of available equipment during its network optimisation programme and a focus on strategic accounts at the expense of smaller customers.

Rogerson joined Speedy at the end of 2013 from Costain after long-term chief executive Steve Corcoran resigned following the discovery of a £5m black hole in the company’s overseas accounts.

The new management now aims to slash overheads to make £13m of savings in 2016, with around £10m saved in the UK and Ireland business, of which £6m will come from staff cuts.

Åstrand said Speedy would also restructure the sales function to better address the needs of the SME market.

In the Middle East, the business continued to break even at an operating profit level, with further opportunities for revenue and margin growth, he added.

The latest shake-up at the hirer will also  involve a programme to increase engineering resources, redistribute assets throughout the depot network to improve asset availability, and optimise stock levels.

Speedy also aims to improve IT systems to enhance management information and the customer experience.