Nixon Hire
Nixon Hire is a UK-based, privately held equipment hire specialist renting modular buildings, site accommodation, welfare units, and proprietary renewable energy products to enterprise construction, infrastructure, utilities, and renewable energy customers via 15+ regional depots.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded1981
- HeadquartersNewcastle, United Kingdom
- Headcount251–500
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
What Nixon Hire does
Nixon Hire (legal entity John Nixon Ltd) is a UK-based, privately held equipment hire and sales specialist founded in 1967 and headquartered in Newcastle upon Tyne. The company rents and sells temporary site infrastructure to enterprise customers across four primary verticals: construction, infrastructure, utilities, and renewable energy. Its core offering spans modular buildings, portable site accommodation and welfare units (anti-vandal offices, canteens, drying rooms, gate houses, toilet/shower combinations), and an internally developed renewable energy product line including solar hybrid generators, battery storage units, and solar mobile welfare units. Complementary service solutions cover tanker waste and water management, fuel management, and proactive maintenance.
The company differentiates on sustainability-led site solutions, holding ISO 9001:2015, ISO 14001:2015, ISO 45001:2018, and Cyber Essentials certifications, and winning multiple Green Apple Awards, a Solar and Storage Award, and the European Rental Awards' Digital Solution for Rental (2026) for its Pulse customer portal. Pulse is a browser-based telemetry platform that streams real-time energy, carbon, and cost data from renewable assets on hire, representing a digital overlay on the physical rental business. Operationally, Nixon Hire runs an enterprise B2B go-to-market with quote-based pricing, 30-day credit account terms, and distribution through 15+ regional depots across England, Scotland, and Wales backed by a central customer support office. The company is family-controlled (CEO Graham Nixon and founder John Nixon) following a 2021 minority investment from Pricoa Private Capital that consolidated ownership and funded product and depot expansion.
Nixon Hire firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Nixon Hire
- Legal name
- John Nixon Ltd
- Website
- https://nixonhire.co.uk
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 1981
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 251–500 employees
- Short description
- Nixon Hire is a UK-based, privately held equipment hire specialist renting modular buildings, site accommodation, welfare units, and proprietary renewable energy products to enterprise construction, infrastructure, utilities, and renewable energy customers via 15+ regional depots.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Nixon Hire industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Site Equipment Rental
- NAICS
- Building Equipment Contractors (2382), Other Building Equipment Contractors (23829)
- SIC
- Construction Machinery & Equip (3531), Construction, Mining & Materials Handling Machinery & Equip (3530)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Site Services & Temporary Infrastructure Rental/Leasing (Portable Toilets, Fencing, Storage Containers) (TLABAFAH)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Industrial Power & Energy Equipment Rental/Leasing (Generators, Light Towers, Compressors) (TLABAFAG), Utility / Service Body Truck Leasing & Rental (Bucket, Field Service, Telecom/Power) (TLABABAJ)
Keywords
Where Nixon Hire is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Newcastle
- HQ country
- United Kingdom
- HQ region
- Europe
Offices15 records
Markets served
Nixon Hire business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Operations, Supply Chain, Personnel, Infrastructure, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales
Revenue model
- Equipment Rental and Hire: Primary revenue stream from short- and long-term rental of site accommodation, modular buildings, welfare facilities, renewable energy equipment, and complementary products. Equipment is hired with delivery and installation services included.
- Equipment Sales: Sale of complementary products and equipment including tools, pumps, power equipment, furniture, and some site accommodation units. One-time purchase transactions.
- Service Solutions: Service solutions including tanker services (effluent tank emptying, chemical toilet emptying), waste and water management, fuel management, and proactive monitoring and maintenance data services.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Unit Pricing | Pay-as-you-go | Equipment rental with quote-based pricing |
Go-to-market motion2 records
Distribution channels3 records
Marketing channels6 records
Nixon Hire product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Nixon Hire supplies, rents and sells portable site accommodation, welfare facilities, modular buildings, and renewable energy/power equipment to construction, infrastructure, utilities, and renewable energy customers across the UK. Its hire fleet includes anti-vandal offices, canteens, drying rooms, combination units, mains toilets, security containers, solar hybrid generators, battery storage units, and solar mobile welfare units, with delivery, installation, and ongoing servicing included. Complementary service solutions cover tanker, waste, water, and fuel management alongside proactive monitoring via the Pulse customer portal.
Product overview
Nixon Hire operates as a full-service site equipment rental company offering a portfolio of interconnected products across four core areas: modular buildings, site accommodation and welfare, renewable energy/power, and service solutions. The product range includes anti-vandal portable offices (8ft to 32ft sizes), canteens, drying rooms, welfare units, and combination units within site accommodation; solar hybrid generators, battery storage units, and solar mobile welfare units within renewable energy; and tanker services, waste management, and fuel management within service solutions. The company also provides a customer-facing digital portal called Pulse for real-time monitoring of renewable energy equipment. Products are available for hire nationwide through a network of depots and can be linked, stacked, or combined to create tailored site solutions.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- Pulse: Customer portal for real-time renewable energy monitoring providing automatically refreshed data on energy use, carbon impact, and cost performance.
- Smart Store
Products and services
- Modular Buildings Hire of modular building units providing temporary facilities on construction and infrastructure sites, available in configurations that can be linked, stacked, or combined to create tailored site solutions.
- Site Accommodation & Welfare Hire Hire of portable site accommodation and welfare units including anti-vandal offices (10', 20' and 32' sizes), gate houses, canteens, drying rooms, combination units, mains toilet units, and security/COSHH containers for temporary site facilities.
- Renewable Energy Equipment Hire Hire of renewable power products including solar hybrid generators, solar smart frames, battery storage units, and renewable power accessories, designed to reduce fuel consumption and carbon emissions on construction, railway, roadworks, and off-grid sites.
- Service Solutions Complementary on-site services including tanker services (effluent tank emptying, chemical toilet emptying), waste and water management, fuel management, and proactive monitoring and maintenance data services for hire customers.
- Pulse Customer Portal Browser-based customer portal providing real-time monitoring of renewable energy equipment on hire, with automatically refreshed data on energy use, carbon impact, and cost performance for off-grid renewable energy systems, plus interactive self-serve consolidated site data.
- Solar Hybrid Generator A state-of-the-art sustainable power solution with 8 large adjustable PV solar panels designed for remote sites including construction, railway, and roadworks, delivering reductions in CO2 emissions, fuel costs, noise pollution, and generator run time.
- Battery Storage Unit (Himoinsa) Intelligent energy storage and distribution system (60kVA/56.8kWh) from Himoinsa designed to optimise energy usage on sites, integrating with generators, power grid, or renewable sources with multiple operating modes (Plug 'n' Play, Low Load, Peak Shaving, UPS, Load Sharing) to reduce fuel consumption and carbon emissions.
- 23ft Solar Mobile Welfare Unit Ultra-modern 23ft solar welfare unit with extra large roof-mounted solar panels and lithium battery bank providing first-class welfare facilities sustainably powered; features zero fuel potential May–September, 45-second hydraulic setup, full canteen and toilet facilities, remote telemetry, and a backup HVO generator.
- Eco-Dry Bespoke Drying Room A 20ft x 8ft bespoke drying room fitted with a low-energy Munters desiccant dehumidifier (maximum 1.9kVA compared to standard 4kVA), auto start/stop technology, LED/PIR lighting, mesh lockers, fixed benches, and drying hooks, suitable for up to 20 people on site.
Quantifiable outcome
- Customers saved over 176 tonnes of CO2 using the Solar Smart Site setup (JN Bentley case study)
- +4 more outcomes
Companies that use Nixon Hire
Customer profileNamed customers6 records
Segments4 records
Ideal customer profiles4 records
Nixon Hire technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature5 records
Nixon Hire partnerships and signals
Strategic signalScale indicators6 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights6 records
Nixon Hire competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- GAP Group: UK equipment hire company providing plant, tools, welfare units, and site accommodation across 100+ depots. Comparable customer base in construction and infrastructure, with overlapping product lines in welfare facilities and modular buildings.
- Speedy Hire: UK-listed tool and equipment rental company (~£400M revenue) serving construction, infrastructure, and industrial customers. Direct overlap with Nixon Hire in portable site accommodation, welfare units, and power equipment rental, though Speedy is significantly larger and broader in tool hire.
- HSS Hire: UK tool and equipment hire business serving construction and industrial markets with nationwide branch coverage. Comparable in depot-based rental model and target customer base, with overlapping product categories in site equipment and powered access.
- Aggreko: Global temporary power and temperature control rental specialist. Direct competitor in the renewable energy / generator segment, increasingly competing in battery storage and hybrid solutions for construction and event customers.
- Portakabin: UK modular building specialist offering both hire and purchase solutions for site accommodation, offices, and classrooms. Direct overlap with Nixon Hire's modular buildings and welfare product range, with similar enterprise customer focus.
- Wernick Group: UK provider of modular and portable building hire for construction sites, events, and education. Direct competitor in the modular buildings and site accommodation niche, with comparable product range and customer segments.
- Algeco: European leader in modular space rental and site accommodation. Direct competitor to Nixon Hire's Modular Buildings line, serving similar construction and infrastructure customers across the UK and Europe with comparable permanent and temporary modular solutions.
Broad incumbents
- A-Plant (Ashtead): UK plant and tool hire brand owned by Ashtead Group. Overlaps with Nixon Hire on construction site equipment, though A-Plant is part of a much larger, listed group with broader product categories and lower cost of capital.
- Sunbelt Rentals (UK): UK arm of Ashtead Group's Sunbelt Rentals, the second-largest equipment rental company in the world. Overlaps with Nixon Hire across site equipment, power, and accommodation, but operates at vastly greater scale with broader categories including industrial and aerial equipment.
Emerging players
- Generator Power: UK specialist in generator rental and temporary power solutions. Emerging competitor focused specifically on the power segment where Nixon Hire's battery storage and solar hybrid offerings are gaining traction.
Market position
Strengths1 record
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks5 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Nixon Hire social profiles
Digital presenceNixon Hire compliance and trust
Trust signalCompliance4 records
Nixon Hire financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Nixon Hire leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles6 records
Nixon Hire funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds1 record
Investors1 record
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Nixon Hire M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A1 record
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Nixon Hire
What does Nixon Hire do?
Nixon Hire supplies, rents and sells portable site accommodation, welfare facilities, modular buildings, and renewable energy/power equipment to construction, infrastructure, utilities, and renewable energy customers across the UK. Its hire fleet includes anti-vandal offices, canteens, drying rooms, combination units, mains toilets, security containers, solar hybrid generators, battery storage units, and solar mobile welfare units, with delivery, installation, and ongoing servicing included. Complementary service solutions cover tanker, waste, water, and fuel management alongside proactive monitoring via the Pulse customer portal.
Is Nixon Hire a public or private company?
Nixon Hire is a private company. It is classified as family owned and is currently operating.
When was Nixon Hire founded?
Nixon Hire was founded in 1981. It employs 251 to 500 people.
Where is Nixon Hire based?
Nixon Hire is headquartered in Newcastle, United Kingdom, in the Europe region.
How does Nixon Hire make money?
Three revenue lines are on record. Equipment Rental and Hire is the primary driver. The others are equipment Sales and service Solutions.
Who are Nixon Hire's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are GAP Group, Speedy Hire, HSS Hire, Aggreko, Portakabin, Wernick Group and Algeco. Broad incumbents are A-Plant (Ashtead) and Sunbelt Rentals (UK). Generator Power is listed as an emerging player.
Does Nixon Hire have an API?
No public API is recorded for Nixon Hire.
What industry is Nixon Hire in?
Nixon Hire's product category is Site Equipment Rental. Its primary akta.pro industry code is TLABAFAH, Site Services & Temporary Infrastructure Rental/Leasing (Portable Toilets, Fencing, Storage Containers), with a secondary code of TLABAFAG, Industrial Power & Energy Equipment Rental/Leasing (Generators, Light Towers, Compressors). Its NAICS code is 2382 and its SIC code is 3531.