Exciting times ahead for Kensite

Kensite Services Ltd, the hirer of mobile accommodation and storage units based in Atherton, Greater Manchester, looks set for exciting times following its acquisition for an undisclosed sum by a consortium of businessmen led by Wigan’s Craig Ainscough.

The Ainscough family is synonymous with the UK hire industry through Wigan based Ainscough Crane Hire Ltd, which brothers Martin, Brendan and James Ainscough grew from modest roots to become the UK’s leading mobile crane hire business with sales of more than £120m.  The Ainscough brothers sold that business in 2007 for £255m before retiring a decade later.

Now, Craig Ainscough, son of Brendan, is set to make his own mark on the North West hire industry with the acquisition of Kensite Services Ltd.  Craig explained: “As a family we have a wealth of knowledge of the North West hire industry and some fantastic connections. When I learned that Kensite might be for sale I needed little persuasion to strike a deal”.

Non-executive Chairman Craig is joined on the Board of Kensite by two former Ainscough Group executives: corporate financier Steve Connelly and chartered surveyor Aidan Grimshaw.  Steve, who has been appointed Managing Director commented: “Kensite is a long established and highly reputable business with a strong regional presence.  We believe that the potential exists to double or possibly treble the scale of the operation through the introduction of fresh marketing ideas and capital”.

There are no immediate plans for large scale changes to the business other than a major investment in the hire fleet.  As Steve Connelly explained: “We know from our due diligence that Kensite has always provided a fantastic level of customer service, but where we did encounter customer criticism it was invariably in relation to the age of the hire fleet.  Our first priority will be to review the entire fleet to establish exactly how much fresh investment will be required.  I expect it will be a significant sum”.