Speedy Hire to axe 4% of staff

TOOL hire firm Speedy Hire revealed it has axed 4 per cent of its workforce as it said full-year results should be in line with expectations.

It said first-half underlying profits came in "broadly" in line with the prior year's £22.9 million but added it was cautious over the outlook for government spending, which forms a substantial part of its clients' order books.

But it warned that the "diverging outlook" made it "unusually difficult" to predict future performance.

Speedy Hire said revenues from its top 50 construction and industrial clients increased by 43 per cent in the five months to August.

The company's first-half revenues to 30 September are expected to be up 22 per cent, boosted by the £115m Hewden Tools acquisition earlier this year.