Eagle’s new flight path
6 December 2023
Eagle Hire, which has depots in Glasgow and Edinburgh, is under new ownership following a management buyout (MBO). And the business has plans for growth.
John Cummings (pictured) becomes Managing Director having previously been Commercial Director, with other senior executives including Sales Director Iain MacDonald, Commercial Director Douglas Smeaton and Operations Director Leigh Cummings, John’s son.
They have bought out Colin Inglis and other shareholders in a deal finalised on 1 December. Colin has been retained in an advisory capacity.
“I actually saw potential for Eagle as soon as I joined the business back in 2018. It was somewhat flying under the radar and not many people really knew about it outside the Glasgow area,” said John, who had previously worked at Speedy Hire with responsibility for Scotland and Ireland.
“Iain, Douglas and Leigh joined at around the same time – having also worked at Speedy – and they knew the market and what people wanted. The team has really grown the business since then.”
This expansion has included opening the depot in Edinburgh, targeting new markets such as Survey & Sales and Utilities with considerable fleet investment, and Eagle Hire’s name and profile has grown.
A potential and protracted deal to sell the business to another hire company fell through earlier this year, after which the idea of an MBO was floated and subsequently completed.
The new owners have clear ambitions to develop the operation further.
Eagle recently completed a £4m deal to buy no fewer than 127 machines from JCB, as reported previously on the blog, including compact tracked dumpers, mini and midi excavators, 6-tonne and 9-tonne dumpers plus CT160-80 and CT260-120 tandem rollers, supplied through the Scot JCB dealership.
The company car fleet is switching from fossil fuel vehicles to Tesla Y electric models which will bring considerable emission reductions and cost savings, and the Eagle delivery and transport fleet is being upgraded, including eight new vans arriving in January.
“We are very confident about the future,” John told me. “Edinburgh and Glasgow are booming. We now have a great name in the local areas and there is a lot of work being undertaken by builders, contractors and utilities.”
There are currently 45 people in the Eagle Hire operation, soon to be joined by a new sales person.
The company has also recently adopted a modernised version of its watchful eagle logo in a striking green and this will be rolled out steadily throughout the business.
Other likely plans include the extension of the yard at Edinburgh, new premises in Glasgow to reflect the company’s growth – and John tells me the business is keeping an eagle eye on potential acquisitions.
Photo: Alan Guthrie
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