Wed, 02 Jul 2025 | ADMINISTRATION
A Stoke-on-Trent-based vehicle rental and contract hire firm has fallen into administration and ceased providing services, with the business now being wound down. Prohire has a fleet of around 3,400 vehicles and employed around 80 people.
The company provided contract hire, fleet management and rental services, with its fleet spanning cars, light commercial vehicles (LCVs), trailers and trucks. In addition to its primary head office in Stoke-on-Trent, the company also had multiple locations in the area, plus a secondary site in Tunbridge Wells, Kent.
The company was founded in 1997 and had carved out a strong position among foodservice and last-mile delivery operators. In 2018, the company underwent a £40 million management buyout (MBO) backed by NorthEdge Capital.
In the year to March 31 2024, the company achieved turnover of £52.8 million, up from around £44.4 million a year earlier, but fell from a post-tax profit of around £1.2 million to a loss of approximately £132,000.
According to EY, the company had experienced liquidity challenges over recent years and, despite the management team exploring options to safeguard its future, they were unable to raise the funding required for it to continue trading.
As a result, the company fell into administration towards the end of last month, with Timothy Vance and Samuel James Woodward of EY-Parthenon's Turnaround and Restructuring Strategy appointed as joint administrators of Prohire Limited, as well as holding company Prohire Group Limited, on June 27, 2025.
Following the appointment of the joint administrators, the company has ceased providing services to customers while the possibility of novating customer contracts and vehicle funders to new providers is explored.
The majority of the company’s employees were made redundant upon the appointment of the joint administrators, with a small number retained to assist in an orderly wind-down of operations.
In Prohire Limited’s most recent accounts, its fixed assets were valued at £43.4 million and current assets at £42.3 million, with net assets amounting to around £12.6 million.
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