It has been an exciting couple of weeks for the equipment hire subsector. Recent IPO HSS Hire warned, blaming the weather and the General Election. Northgate hit a wall of depreciation and currency headwinds while also flagging internal issues in its UK business. Worse still, Speedy Hire collapsed for multiple company-specific reasons, prompting the resignation of newish CEO Mark Rogerson. It is unlikely that recent profit warnings from Speedy and HSS are entirely unrelated but the common theme ....
