Hire is in our DNA
Owners Steve & Danielle Hitchen have both only ever worked in the Construction Equipment Hire sector working with almost every aspect of equipment available from Large Mobile Cranes to small Plant & Tools. In 2009 they decided that it was time to work for themselves & embarked on looking for opportunities. In October 2009 they acquired two North West based Tool Hire businesses & started trading with seven depots. Since then, the company has grown to cover most of England & has added multiple other Construction Serving Services to the core Hire offering.
With 25 depots & still growing the journey so far is as follows….
Friday 2nd October
2009
One Stop Hire was born when SJS Hire Tools was Acquired with 3 depots in Wrightington, Chorley and Bolton. SJS was a long established name in the Northwest area with 25 years of trading.
Friday 9th October
One week later, PSL originally known as Power Supply Ltd was Acquired, adding depots in Manchester, Liverpool, Blackpool, Bolton and Wigan.
Co-owner Steve Hitchen worked at PSL for 7 years in his early career from 1986-1993.
2010
One Stop Hire opens Widnes Depot
The Widnes Depot was our first ‘Green Field’ depot. The start of the 2nd Mersey Crossing booster work in the area. This depot opened to support the growing demand which gave us access to Cheshire and Merseyside.
2012
One Stop Hire opens Cumbria Depot.
A large contract win for One Stop Hire on the AMPS Water Project, which was the catalyst for us to move into Cumbria.
2014
WHS Training Solutions acquired in Blackburn
One Stop Sales Direct started
Being able to offer two new services, gave us more selling power to our clients and prospects. Our “The Answer Is Always “YES” mantra soon saw us expand our range of Training courses and sales product lines.
2015
B&W Tool Hire was acquired
B&W set up a Tool Hire division to compliment their highly successful large plant business in 2013, but in 2015 decided to exit tool hire to specialise in their plant division which was growing rapidly. This was a great acquisition and partnership for One Stop Hire.
One Stop Hire opens Leeds Depot – Lots of North West based customers were winning work in the growing Leeds & West Yorkshire market, we followed them with our first venture outside of the Northwest.
2016
Wythenshawe depot opens in South Manchester
Our single depot in Manchester was getting over run with demand, and with the multi-billion pound expansion of Manchester starting, we opened up our 2nd Manchester depot next door in Wythenshawe.
2017
Multiserve Ltd - Non-Mech Plant acquired
Most of our depots only had small yards, we did not operate a HGV fleet at this time so we cross hired all of our Non-Mechanical requirements.
When Multiserve who were a big supplier to us came up for sale it was the perfect opportunity to buy into this sector and cut out the re-hire.
2018
Trafford Park Depot opens
Both of our Central Manchester depots were at full capacity so we ‘went big’ with our largest ever depot at the time in Trafford Park. With its large yard and training rooms, we would operate Tools, Access, Non-Mech and Training from this perfect location.
Merseyside Plant Hire on the Wirral was acquired. We were approached by a long established Wirral based hirer called Merseyside Plant Hire which put us on the other side of the Mersey which opened up new areas and customers. Another great acquisition.
2019
Birmingham Depot opens
Birmingham Depot opens due to Cheshire based customers starting to focus work in Crewe & Stoke. The customers were asking if we could serve Birmingham which had secured the Commonwealth Games and had started getting busier. We had not previously thought about moving into Birmingham but due to demand it was the start of a new chapter in the midlands.
Non-Mech ‘Super Depot’ opens on a 2 acre site in Newton-le Willows
Merseyside Plant Hire Wirral Depot relocates into new ‘full serve’ unit in Bromborough Ellesmere Port
2020
Late in 2019, an opportunity arose for us to enter the spectacular sector of ‘Lifting’ equipment which up to that point we mostly re-hired. In January 2020 our first lifting depot opened in Newton-le Willows.
In the later quarter of 2020, after the COVID-19 pandemic started to subside we relocated our Preston, Leeds and Wigan Depots to much bigger premises with yards and training capabilities.
Passionate Hirer of the Year Awarded at the Executive Hire Show.
2021
In early 2021 we started to look for premises in the Northeast as customers were starting to report a lot of activity in the area. Incredibly and coincidentally, we were approached with an opportunity to acquire the longest serving hire business in the North East called Lord Hire which had 8 Depots across the region. This was our largest acquisition to date.
Birmingham and the midlands were growing rapidly, we needed new depots so Nottingham and Northampton were opened to give us superb coverage of the region.
2021
Lifting division expands into South Manchester.
Lifting spreads into the Midlands at Birmingham depot.
Lifting equipment, hire, sales and some training was spread into Manchester, Birmingham and now has operators in all other regions.
2022
2022 saw us open our largest depot to date in Sunderland with a 25,000 SQ Ft unit + 1 Acre Yard plus Training Centre. A North East hub for Hire, Sales, Non-Mech, Lifting and Training.
With our rapid growth our HR, IT, SHEQ and admin departments, we had to expand. In July 2022 we moved into our new Head Office in Chorley to accommodate this.
We retained our old Head Office and converted this into our training division’s Head Office and Sales Support centre.
2023
2023 saw us open our ‘Early Careers Academy’ in Wigan to put young apprentice engineers through a bespoke 2 year programme in conjunction with Wigan & Leigh College. Our future technicians were being born.
We applied to join the 5% Club which recognises companies who invest in all types of apprenticeships and we were accredited with a GOLD membership at our first audit. A very proud moment for us all.
LONDON CALLING!
Customers demand and an opportunity to work with an experienced operator saw us open our first of what will be many South East / London area depots. Our first depot in South East London is a large facility operating all of our services and equipment.
2024
In 2024, we expanded our network with the opening of our London City Depot, enhancing our ability to serve customers in the capital and surrounding areas.
This strategic growth allows us to provide even greater access to our extensive range of equipment, ensuring businesses in London receive the same high-quality service and support.
In November 2024 we open our first training supercentre in Manchester. The decision was made to further expand our training capabilities to support businesses and individuals across the region.
This dedicated facility offers a range of accredited IPAF, PASMA, UKATA and CITB courses, providing the necessary skills to the industry.
2025
In 2025, we continued to strengthen our national presence with the opening of our Bristol Depot, expanding our coverage across the Southwest region. This new location enhances our ability to support businesses in and around Bristol with faster access to our wide range of equipment and the high-quality service our customers rely on.
We also made key infrastructure improvements with the relocation of our Newcastle and Birmingham depots.
These strategic moves were designed to optimise operations, increase capacity, and improve service efficiency, ensuring we continue to meet the evolving needs of our customers across these vital regions.
We also marked a major milestone with the opening of our brand-new UK Training & Commercial Centre in Chorley. This purpose-built facility brings together our Hire, Sales, Total Solutions, Training, Marketing, and Business Systems teams under one roof, strengthening collaboration and giving our leadership team full visibility across key functions. The centre ensures we remain agile, efficient, and fully aligned in delivering on our promise: “The Answer’s Always YES.”
The One Stop Promise
We enjoy the challenge of sourcing & supplying the most demanding & unusual equipment requests. We invest in the best equipment
& the best people & our intention is always to exceed our clients expectations with our friendly & personal service.
Open Account
Our key features...
Depots Across
The Northwest, Northeast, Yorkshire, Midlands, London
& now Bristol with nationwide coverage.
Fully Accredited
Quality & Safety is our priority.
Investment
Our fleet is continuously stocked
with the latest & best equipment available.
Trade Accounts
Available subject to credit checks.
Delivery Service
A modern, efficient fleet of vehicles
fully tracked with PDA technology
Recent One Stop Hire Ltd News
Eight Years of Impact: One Stop Hire’s Ongoing Support for Inspire Youth Zone
One Stop Hire Invests £1 Million into Fleet Expansion and Modernisation
