Staffordshire hire and fleet management firm Prohire has taken initial steps to appoint an administrator.
The company filed an application in court this week notifying its intention to appoint insolvency experts.
The application was lodged on 25 June.
Prohire had not responded as we went to press, but Motor Transport understands there has been a scramble among some operators to secure vehicle availability and to ensure that their fleet vehicles are being inspected in line with their operator licence obligations.
The last available set of accounts for the business showed that turnover had increased by £8.5m in the year ending 31 March 2024 to £52.9m.
It attributed this mainly to annualisation of prior year and current year contract hire new business secured.
However, pre-tax profits reduced to £414,000 from £1.6m in 2023 and it made an overall loss in the financial year of £132,000.
Operating profits fell by over £225,000: “as the annualisation of revenue benefits of new business wins were eroded in the short term by an increase in fleet age profile pending a number of large customer fleet refresh programmes in 2025”, Prohire said in its business review.
Inflationary pressures also affected its margins.
“In the year ending March 2025, we forecast up to a third of our contract hire fleet will reach the end of its current fixed rental periods,” it added.
“With the limitations on availability of new vehicles in the market starting to ease, we are focused on updating commercial pricing to current market conditions for these expiring vehicles and addressing the short-term service, maintenance and repair network cost pressures.”
Employing more than 90 staff, Prohire provides nationwide commercial vehicle rental and long-term vehicle contract hire, together with fleet maintenance, accident repair management, and fleet compliance to customers across the UK.
