UK rental associations on UK's Brexit

The UK’s two equipment rental associations have responded to the Brexit vote last week.

Hire Association Europe (HAE), the body that represents many of the UK’s tool hire shops as well as the events sector, said the vote to leave meant that “a new beginning for the hire industry starts here and now.”

The association’s managing director, Graham Arundell, said in a statement; “Following the clear decision to leave the European Union, HAE EHA, together with other business organisations, will want clarity as to the timetable for UK withdrawal.

“Tackling market uncertainty and particularly releasing paused investment for infrastructure, utilities and house building must be priorities. We want the UK government and devolved administrations to work together to plan for an orderly and phased departure and for the implications for existing and new business transactions to be better understood and explained, including access to the skilled workforce we all need now and in the future.”

The organisation said that it would continue to lobby parliament to ensure that its members’ interests were reflected in future legislation and policy.

The Construction Plant-hire Association (CPA), whose members include plant hire and crane hire companies, has not issued a statement on the vote, but Colin Wood, CPA’s managing director, told IRN that the vast majority of its members operated only in the UK, and that the vote to leave would not therefore have a direct impact on any business activities in the rest of the EU.

However, he acknowledged that members would be concerned about any slowing of the UK economy following the vote, and said they would also be wary of the possibility of increased prices on equipment such as cranes and excavators imported from the EU.