Lavendon Group, a Leicestershire-based specialist in rental equipment, has acquired local rival EPL Access out of administration for £1.3 million in cash.

Lavendon Group, a Leicestershire-based specialist in rental equipment, has acquired local rival EPL Access out of administration for £1.3 million in cash.

EPL, which rents industrial tools and equipment, is based in Lutterworth and generated revenue of £8.1 million and an operating profit of £500,000 for year-end September 2008.

Lavendon chief executive Kevin Appleton said: ‘Whilst our focus on cash generation and debt reduction remains very much in place, given our scale and operational efficiency, we can absorb acquisition opportunities such as this on very attractive terms in the current environment.’

In 2008, Lavendon reported a 34 per cent increase in revenue to £248.4 million, while pre-tax profits were up 31 per cent to £30.4million.