Orange Hire in Australia acquired by private equity firm

Orange Hire in Australia has been acquired by private equity firm Arcadia Capital.

Orange Hire, founded in 2005, is a A$67 million revenue business with around 87 employees. It is headquartered in Blacktown, New South Wales, on the outskirts of Sydney. It rents earth moving and traffic management equipment for the civil infrastructure and building industries.

The company has seven branches in New South Wales, Queensland and Victoria. 

Demand for civil infrastructure-oriented service firms such as Orange Hire is expected to increase. Australia’s State and Federal Governments have announced major infrastructure building programs to stimulate their respective economies following the Covid-19 led downturn.

Arcadia’s investment model is based on acquiring growth companies based in Australia and New Zealand. Arcadia Capital Partners Sam Walker and Leigh Oliver, who co-founded the company, both have experience of equipment rental through their previous employment at Carlyle Group, which was a co-owner of Coates Hire for many years.

Orange Hire CEO Greg Parfitt said Arcadia Capital’s cash injection ”will provide the firepower to go after more opportunities without compromising our existing business. It will also be healthy to have a fresh set of eyes on our operations, particularly given Leigh and Sam have experience in the equipment hire sector. It’s an exciting new stage for Orange Hire.”

The acquisition was completed last week for an undisclosed sum.

Orange Hire CEO Rick Parfitt is a former Coates Hire executive.

IRN updated this story on 21 December 2020.