Kiloutou buys big in Portugal

Kiloutou has signed two acquisition agreements that will expand its footprint into Portugal and within Denmark. The terms of the deals have not been disclosed.

A Kiloutou depot. The group now has a presence in France, Poland, Spain, Italy, Germany, Denmark – and Portugal. (Photo: Kiloutou Group.)

The purchase of major rental company Grupo Vendap sees Kiloutou first entry into Portugal.

Holbæk Lift, a regional player, has been bought by Kiloutou’s Danish subsidiary GSV, which was acquired by Kiloutou in March. 

Vendap is one of the leading equipment rental companies in Portugal with annual revenues last year of €40 million.

It has an estimated 18% market share and a product offering including generators, access, modular space and portable toilets. It has eight branches across the country, serving national customers in the civil engineering, construction, and public sectors.

Vendap was owned by various investment funds and local investors, as well as its senior management team, who will be reinvesting. The company’s management team will continue in their roles, with Francisco Ferreira Do Amaral, Vendap’s CEO, reporting to the Kiloutou board.

Kiloutou Group said it plans to continue developing the business in Portugal, through internal growth, new branch openings, an enlarged fleet offering and acquisitions.

Olivier Colleau, CEO of Kiloutou Group. (Photo: Kiloutou.)

Holbæk Lift is named after and located in the Northwest Zealand region’s largest city. It achieved €6 million of revenue in 2021. It has a fleet of 2,600 modular space units, access platforms and light equipment.

Kiloutou said the acquisition demonstrated “the ability of GSV, the leading Danish equipment rental player, to pursue an active bolt-on acquisitions program following its acquisition by the Kiloutou Group in March 2022.”

Dan O. Vorsholt, CEO of GSV, added; “Kiloutou has given GSV the financial means to pursue and accelerate its development in the very competitive Danish market.

“The 20 employees of Holbæk Lift will contribute to expand our network in a region where GSV wants to reinforce its presence”.

The acquisition of Holbæk closed at the end of August whilst Grupo Vendap’s acquisition is expected to be completed by the end of September, subject to legal approvals. Both are being funded with existing resources.

With expected additional revenues of more than €45 million, Kiloutou said the two acquisitions would reinforce its market position in Europe “and contribute to its accelerated diversification in terms of customer base and business mix,” with approximately 33% of its revenue expected to be generated outside of France.

“We further estimate that the acquisitions made in 2022 should enable the Kiloutou Group proforma “last 12 months” revenues to exceed €1 billion as of 30 June 2022.”

Olivier Colleau, Chief Executive Officer of Kiloutou, described the acquisitions as “part of our geographical development strategy aiming at positioning Kiloutou among the reference leaders in all countries where the group is operating.”

The acquisitions are the eighth and ninth since the start of 2021. The Kiloutou Group now has a presence in France, Poland, Spain - where it has acquired recently - Italy, Germany, Denmark – and Portugal.