What Hirebase does

Hirebase, operated by Huws Gray Limited (a private limited company registered in England & Wales), provides tools and equipment hire services to trade professionals and DIY consumers across the United Kingdom. Founded in 1988 and now employing 251-500 staff, the company operates under the Hirebase brand as the plant and tool hire division of the Huws Gray Group conglomerate, with its registered office at Llangefni Industrial Estate, Anglesey, and operational branches distributed across the UK. The core offering is organized into two product pillars: Tool Hire, spanning 15 categories including breaking & drilling, compaction, cutting & sawing, power generation, plumbing, landscaping, lifting, lighting, sanding & woodworking, and site works; and Plant Hire, covering larger construction equipment such as powered access platforms and compaction machinery.

The technology and platform layer is a traditional e-commerce rental operation: a product-catalog website with branch-locator functionality, online basket and checkout, click-and-collect across physical branches, and delivery options. No APIs, SDKs, AI modalities, or proprietary software assets are disclosed. The extended service portfolio includes Repairs & Servicing, portable toilet hire, and skip hire as adjacent site services, plus two productized add-ons — Hire Plus (enhanced trade account benefits) and Hire Protect Damage Waiver (accidental-damage protection).

Hirebase's business model is usage-based equipment rental, with publicly listed daily or per-period unit pricing (e.g., Electric Road Breaker at £46 inc VAT, 16kg Breaker at £40 inc VAT, Plate Compactor at £36 inc VAT). Customers transact through two channels: a consumer/DIY motion via website and branch, and a B2B trade account motion for construction professionals requiring regular access to equipment. Marketing is concentrated in the e-commerce storefront and email newsletter, with distribution via the regional branch network. Revenue figures are not disclosed, and no funding rounds, M&A, partnerships, patents, or executive changes are recorded in the available source material.

Name

Hirebase

Legal name

Huws Gray Limited

Website

https://hirebase.uk

Company type

Private

Founded year

1988

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

251–500 employees

Short description

Hirebase, operated by Huws Gray Limited, provides UK-wide tool and plant equipment rental to trade professionals and DIY consumers through a multi-branch network with click-and-collect, delivery, and an e-commerce platform spanning 15 tool categories plus plant hire and adjacent site services.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Ardsley

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Operations, Supply Chain, Personnel, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Equipment Hire/Rental: Hirebase generates revenue through short-term rental of construction tools and plant equipment. Customers pay to hire equipment for specified periods, with pricing typically quoted per day or per hire period. The company offers both consumer and trade hiring options.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels2 records

Core offering

Hirebase (trading as Huws Gray Plant & Tool Hire) provides short-term rental of construction tools and plant equipment to trade professionals, construction firms, maintenance operators, and DIY consumers across the United Kingdom. Core offerings are organised into Tool Hire (covering breaking & drilling, compaction, cutting & sawing, power generation, plumbing, landscaping, lifting & handling, decorating & cleaning, and other categories) and Plant Hire (larger powered access, towers, and construction machinery), complemented by repairs & servicing, Hire Plus enhanced trade benefits, Hire Protect damage waiver, portable toilet hire, and skip hire.

Product overview

Hirebase (operated by Huws Gray Plant & Tool Hire) is a construction equipment rental business offering a unified platform combining Tool Hire and Plant Hire services. The core offering consists of Tool Hire (featuring breaking & drilling, compaction, cutting & sawing, power generation, plumbing, landscaping, and other specialized tools) and Plant Hire (larger powered access and construction equipment). Additional services include Repairs & Servicing, Hire Plus (enhanced trade account benefits), Hire Protect Damage Waiver, Portable Toilet Hire, and Skip Hire. The product portfolio is organized into 15 tool hire categories and multiple plant hire subcategories, serving construction, maintenance, and landscaping professionals across multiple branch locations.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Hire Plus: Enhanced hire service package offering additional benefits for tool and plant hire customers.
• Hire Protect Damage Waiver
• Repairs and Servicing

Products and services

• Tool Hire Short-term rental of construction tools and equipment including breakers, drills, generators, mixers, sanders, saws, lifting equipment, lighting, plumbing tools, landscaping tools, and fixing tools. Organised across 15 categories (Access, Breaking & Drilling, Compaction & Surface Preparation, Consumables, Decorating & Cleaning, Fixing, Heating Cooling & Drying, Landscaping, Lifting & Handling, Lighting, Plumbing, Power Generation & Pumping, Sanding & Woodworking, Cutting & Sawing, Site Works & Surveying). Targeted at construction professionals, maintenance operators, and DIY consumers across the UK.
• Plant Hire Short-term rental of larger construction and industrial plant machinery including powered access equipment, compaction machines, towers and platforms, staging and trestles, and ladders and steps. Targeted at construction firms and trade professionals requiring larger equipment for building and infrastructure projects.
• Portable Toilet Hire Rental of portable toilets for construction sites, events, and outdoor projects. Offered as part of the wider services portfolio alongside skip hire, repairs, and servicing.
• Skip Hire Skip hire service for waste removal on construction, renovation, and DIY projects, offered alongside equipment hire services.
• Repairs and Servicing Equipment repair and maintenance service for both hired and customer-owned tools and plant, supporting the hire fleet and external customers.
• Hire Plus Enhanced hire service package providing additional benefits for trade customers, operating as a premium tier of the hire offering.
• Hire Protect Damage Waiver Damage waiver protection programme covering accidental damage to hired equipment during the hire period, available as an add-on to equipment rentals.

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• HSS Hire: National UK tool and equipment hire specialist with online ordering, click & collect, and trade accounts — directly overlapping with Hirebase's core tool-and-plant hire model, customer base, and omnichannel delivery.
• Speedy Hire: One of the largest UK tool and plant hire operators with a national branch network and trade/consumer accounts; competes head-to-head with Hirebase for the same construction and DIY customer segments across similar equipment categories.
• GAP Group: UK plant, tool, and welfare hire specialist with multi-branch coverage and similar customer profiles in construction and infrastructure; comparable to Hirebase in product breadth and trade-account orientation.
• Brandon Hire Station: UK tool and equipment hire brand serving trade and DIY customers through a national branch network with online booking; closest mid-market counterpart to Hirebase in size, scope, and customer mix.
• Vp plc: UK-listed equipment rental group with divisions in UK platforms, groundforce, and Brandon Hire; serves the same construction and infrastructure markets with overlapping plant and tool hire categories.

Broad incumbents

• Ashtead Group: FTSE-listed parent of Sunbelt Rentals (US) and A-Plant (UK); A-Plant overlaps with Hirebase in UK plant hire but operates at much larger scale across a broader industrial and construction portfolio.
• Travis Perkins: UK's largest builders' merchant with a tool and equipment hire arm; overlapping hire offering is one division within a much broader building-products distribution business, comparable in customer base but not specialized.
• Aggreko: Global temporary power and temperature-control rental specialist with UK operations; serves adjacent industrial and construction markets with large-format equipment rental on short-term contracts.
• Sunbelt Rentals: US-focused equipment rental leader (part of Ashtead Group) and one of the largest global rental operators; comparable in business model and equipment breadth but a much larger and more diversified incumbent.

Regional players

• Boels Rental: Dutch-headquartered equipment rental group with expanding UK presence across tool and plant hire; comparable product portfolio and customer mix but primary geographic focus remains continental Europe.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Hirebase