Southern Cranes & Access

What Southern Cranes & Access does

Southern Cranes & Access is a privately held, family-run crane hire and contract lifting operator founded in July 1997 and headquartered in Southwater, West Sussex. The company provides mobile crane hire, contract lifting, and powered access equipment through a fleet that includes heavy mobile cranes (most recently the 300-tonne Liebherr LTM 1300-6.4), self-erecting tower cranes, the Spierings SK597-AT4 eLift, and Hoeflon electric spider cranes. It serves customers across construction and infrastructure, rail, industrial and energy, transport and logistics, and film/TV/events segments, with named enterprise clients including Network Rail and Electrical Alliance Contractors.

The business operates five depot locations across South East England — Southwater, Lightwater, Thatcham, Hailsham, and Dartford — with the Dartford site added through a partnership with Hawkes Crane Hire Ltd to extend reach into the Thames Estuary and Greater London. The company is managed day-to-day by Managing Director Clive Sadler and holds a portfolio of accreditations (ISO 9001, ISO 14001, ISO 45001, CHAS, ConstructionLine, RISQS, CPA, FORS Silver) that pre-qualify it for regulated procurement, including rail works via RISQS.

Revenue is generated through equipment rental, contract lift management, and operator supply, with pricing driven by crane class, mobilization distance, and project duration. The business model is asset-heavy and operationally intensive: utilization, mobilization logistics, and accreditation status are the primary determinants of margin. There are no disclosed external funding events; the company is privately financed under family ownership.

Name

Southern Cranes & Access

Legal name

Southern Cranes and Access Ltd

Website

https://southerncranes.co.uk

Company type

Private

Founded year

1997

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

Southern Cranes & Access is a family-run mobile crane hire and contract lifting operator founded in 1997, operating five depots across South East England and serving construction, rail, infrastructure, industrial, and events clients with a diversified heavy-lift fleet.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Construction Equipment Rental

NAICS

Industrial Truck, Tractor, Trailer, and Stacker Machinery Manufacturing (333924)

SIC

Construction, Mining & Materials Handling Machinery & Equip (3530)

akta.pro primary industry

Cranes & Heavy Lifting Equipment Rental/Leasing (TLABAFAD)

akta.pro secondary industries

Mobile & Crawler Cranes (IMAHAJAA), Tower Cranes (IMAHAJAB), Truck-Mounted & Loader Cranes (IMAHAJAF)

Keywords

• Mobile crane hire
• Contract lifting services
• Powered access hire
• Material handling equipment
• Tower crane rental

Headquarters

HQ city

Southwater

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices5 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Supply Chain, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Mobile Crane Hire: Rental of mobile cranes ranging from small city cranes to large 300-tonne capacity cranes. Customers pay for equipment rental typically on a daily or project basis.
2. Powered Access Equipment Hire: Rental of powered access equipment including scissor lifts, articulated booms, and telescopic booms for elevated work access.
3. Contract Lifting Services: Comprehensive lifting solutions including planning, method statements, technical drawings, risk assessments, and full lifting operations with operators.
4. Material Handling Equipment: Rental of telehandlers, roto telehandlers, tracked carriers, and pick & carry cranes for material handling operations.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

Southern Cranes & Access hires mobile cranes (up to 80T and above 80T), mobile tower cranes, city cranes and spider cranes from depots across South East England. It delivers contract lifting services with in-house lift planning and CPCS-trained operators, lifts powered access equipment such as boom and scissor lifts, and supports sites with material handling plant including telehandlers, roto telehandlers, tracked carriers and Franna pick-and-carry cranes, complemented by an in-house transport fleet.

Product overview

Southern Cranes & Access is a family-run business established in 1997 providing mobile crane hire, mobile tower crane hire, spider crane hire, contract lifting, powered access equipment hire, and material handling solutions across London and South East England. The company operates one of the largest, most versatile fleets of access machines and cranes in the south-east region. The portfolio includes mobile cranes ranging from compact city cranes to 300-tonne capacity Liebherr and Grove models, mobile tower cranes such as the Liebherr MK140-5.1 and electric Spierings SK597-AT4 eLift, spider cranes from Hoeflon including C6e, C10e, and C30e models, powered access equipment including scissor lifts and articulated/telescopic boom lifts from Genie and Niftylift, telehandlers and roto telehandlers from Manitou and Magni, tracked carriers, and Franna pick and carry cranes. Contract lifting services provide comprehensive lifting solutions including method statements and on-site supervision.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Mobile Cranes (up to 80T) Hire Hire of mobile telescopic cranes with lifting capacity up to 80 tonnes (including Grove units) for construction, infrastructure and industrial sites across South East England, supplied with CPCS-trained operators.
• Mobile Cranes (above 80T) Hire Hire of large-capacity mobile cranes above 80 tonnes (including the Liebherr LTM 1300-6.4 with up to 250-tonne capability) for heavy lifts on construction, infrastructure and industrial projects.
• Mobile Tower Crane Hire Hire of mobile tower cranes (Spierings electric truck-mounted and foldable tower cranes) for construction sites requiring higher lift heights without the footprint of static tower cranes.
• City Crane Hire Hire of city cranes designed for operations in confined city-centre sites with restricted access and tight radii.
• Spider Crane Hire Hire of compact mini spider cranes (Hoeflon) for indoor lifts, glass installation and confined-space lifting where conventional cranes cannot operate.
• Contract Lifting Services End-to-end contract lifting including lift planning, provision of cranes and CPCS-trained operators, Appointed Persons, Crane Coordinators, and slinger/signallers, managed by Southern Cranes & Access.
• Articulated Boom Lift Hire Hire of articulated boom lifts (Niftylift and Genie) for working at height with outreach around obstacles, supplied to construction, facilities, events and rail sites.
• Telescopic Boom Lift Hire Hire of telescopic boom lifts (Niftylift and Genie) for straight-reach working at height on construction, industrial and infrastructure sites.
• Scissor Lift Hire Hire of scissor lifts for vertical working-at-height tasks on construction, fit-out and maintenance sites.
• Telehandler Hire Hire of telehandlers (Manitou) for material handling, loading and unloading, and elevated site logistics.
• Roto Telehandler Hire Hire of rotating telehandlers (Magni) for heavy lifting and placing materials at height and reach on construction sites.
• Tracked Carrier Hire Hire of rubber-tracked carriers (Aconda and Morooka) for off-road transport of plant, equipment and materials on construction and industrial sites.
• Franna Pick & Carry Crane Hire Hire of Franna pick-and-carry cranes for taxi-style lifting, loading and relocating loads on industrial sites and yards.
• Transport Services Provision of tractor units and loaders from the company's own transport fleet, including Glanmoor transport services, to move cranes, plant and abnormal loads to and from sites.

Named customers2 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Hawkes Crane Hire LtdminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorHawkes Crane Hire Ltd operates as a partner depot for Southern Cranes & Access in the Dartford area. Southern Cranes provides crane hire services in Dartford through this partnership, utilizing Hawkes Crane Hire's location.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• Speedy Services: UK-wide plant, tool and equipment hire group with national depot coverage serving construction and industrial customers. Broadly comparable to Southern Cranes as an equipment rental business, but with a much wider portfolio beyond cranes and access equipment.
• Hewden: UK plant and equipment hire company providing aerial platforms, cranes and material handling equipment to construction and industrial customers. Overlaps with Southern Cranes in powered access and material handling rental but operates at broader national scale.

Direct peers

• King Lifting: UK-based crane hire specialist providing mobile cranes, contract lifting and operator services across infrastructure and construction. Direct competitor to Southern Cranes in the South/South East region with similar mix of bare hire and full contract lift solutions.
• Hird Ltd: UK crane and powered access hire specialist offering mobile crane hire, contract lifting and aerial work platforms. Closely comparable to Southern Cranes' combined crane hire and powered access offering, with overlapping customer types in construction and facilities maintenance.
• Height for Hire: UK powered access equipment hire company serving construction, facilities management and events customers. Comparable to Southern Cranes' powered access hire stream and overlapping telehandler/scissor lift fleet mix.
• Lifting Gear Hire (LGH): UK and international specialist in lifting equipment rental, inspection and engineering services. Comparable to Southern Cranes for lifting gear rental to construction and industrial customers, with broader inspection/testing services as a differentiator.
• Ainscough Crane Hire: The UK's largest mobile crane hire company with a national depot network offering contract lifting services across industrial, infrastructure and energy sectors. Directly comparable to Southern Cranes in mobile crane hire, contract lifting, and customer base overlap, though at materially greater scale.
• Emerson Crane Hire: UK-based mobile crane hire specialist providing contract lifting and CPA-aligned services to construction and industrial sectors. Directly comparable to Southern Cranes in core crane hire and contract lift offering.
• Nationwide Platforms: UK's largest powered access equipment rental specialist with national depot coverage of scissor lifts, boom lifts and telehandlers. Direct peer for the powered access and material handling portion of Southern Cranes' fleet, though with much greater geographic reach.
• Hawkes Crane Hire: UK crane hire company operating multiple South East depots including a Dartford location operated as a partner depot for Southern Cranes. Direct peer with overlapping mobile crane hire services and contract lifting capabilities across the same regional footprint.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/southerncranes
• Facebookfacebook.com/cranehire

Compliance9 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

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 Southern Cranes & Access