How much does M. O'Brien (Plant Hire) Ltd. make?

M. O'Brien (Plant Hire) Ltd. reported revenue of £40.8m and £5.5m profit in the year to 31 Dec 2024, according to its accounts filed at Companies House.

How many employees does M. O'Brien (Plant Hire) Ltd. have?

M. O'Brien (Plant Hire) Ltd. reported an average of 78 employees in the year to 31 Dec 2024.

Is M. O'Brien (Plant Hire) Ltd. profitable?

Yes — M. O'Brien (Plant Hire) Ltd. reported a profit of £5.5m in the year to 31 Dec 2024.

Company No. 03192366 · Incorporated 30 Apr 1996

M. O'Brien (Plant Hire) Ltd.

Registered name: M. O'BRIEN (PLANT HIRE) LTD.

M. O'Brien (Plant Hire) Ltd. made £40.8m revenue and £5.5m profit in the year to 31 Dec 2024. read from filing text

M. O'Brien (Plant Hire) Ltd.’s revenue fell 9% to £40.8m in the year to 31 Dec 2024, with £5.5m profit and 78 employees. The company is classified under “renting and leasing of construction and civil engineering machinery and equipment” and is based in Bedford; we hold 4 years of its filed accounts.

Full P&L filedSection N · Administrative and support servicesSIC 77320Renting and leasing of construction and civil engineering machinery and equipment

Status: Active
Location: Bedford, South East
Age: 30 yrs · since 1996
Type: Private Limited Company

Latest accounts · year to 31 Dec 2024

Key figures

IndependentBoring industryCash flow filed

Revenue

£40.8m

Growth ▼8.7%

Profit

£5.5m

Growth ▼25.8%

Profit margin

13.5%

Gross 25%

Employees

Change ▼1.3%

Profit / employee

£70.5k

Revenue/employee £523k

Profitable streak

4yrs

Consecutive profitable years in our data

Badges are automated estimates derived from the filed figures — not statements of fact about the company.

4 filed years

Financial history

Multi-year financials, oldest to newest
Year to	31 Dec 2021	31 Dec 2022	31 Dec 2023	31 Dec 2024
Disclosure	Full P&L	Full P&L	Full P&Lread from filing text	Full P&Lread from filing text
Profit & loss
Revenue (turnover)	£30.9m	£42m	£44.7m	£40.8m
Cost of sales	£21.5m	£29.5m	£32.8m	£30.6m
Gross profit	£9.4m	£12.5m	£11.9m	£10.2m
Operating profit	£8.4m	£11.1m	£10.6m	£7.9m
Profit before tax	£8.1m	£10.6m	£9.7m	£7.4m
Profit after tax	£4.9m	£8.9m	£7.4m	£5.5m
Profit (best available)	£4.9m	£8.9m	£7.4m	£5.5m
Staff costs	—	£4.3m	£3.8m	£4.5m
Employees (average)	70	85	79	78
Ratios
Profit margin	16%	21.1%	16.6%	13.5%
Gross margin	30.3%	29.7%	26.6%	25%
Revenue per employee	£441k	£494k	£566k	£523k
Profit per employee	£70.6k	£104k	£93.8k	£70.5k
Cash conversion	—	−113.8%	−159.1%	−185.4%
Growth (year on year)
Revenue growth	—	▲36.1%	▲6.4%	▼8.7%
Profit growth	—	▲79.4%	▼16.4%	▼25.8%
Headcount growth	—	▲21.4%	▼7.1%	▼1.3%
Balance sheet — indirect signals, not revenue
Cash at bank	£3.1m	£2.5m	£3.2m	£8.7m
Net assets	£22.9m	£31.2m	£33.3m	£38.4m
Fixed assets	£38.1m	£37.8m	£44.5m	£47.5m
Current assets	£11.2m	£13.3m	£11.8m	£17.8m
Debtors	£6m	£8.3m	£6.4m	£7.3m
Deferred income	—	£88.8k	£462k	£173k
Cash from operations	—	−£12.6m	−£16.8m	−£14.7m
Source	FullAccounts · bulk data Oct 2023	FullAccounts · bulk data Oct 2023	FullAccounts · bulk data Nov 2024	FullAccounts · bulk data Sep 2025

Derived from the latest filing

How the business works

Profit margin: 13.5%; Profit ÷ revenue.
Gross margin: 25%; Gross profit ÷ revenue. High for software and services.
Revenue per employee: £523k; Revenue ÷ average employees.
Profit per employee: £70.5k; Profit ÷ average employees.
Cash conversion: −185.4%; Cash generated from operations ÷ operating profit. Needs a cash-flow statement.
Fixed assets ÷ revenue: 116.3%; Capital intensity. Low = capital-light, cheaper to start.
Deferred income ÷ revenue: 0.4%; Customers paying upfront (subscriptions, deposits). Approximate when combined with accruals.
Debtors ÷ revenue: 17.9%; Money owed by customers. Low = customers pay quickly.

Indirect — not revenue

Balance-sheet signals

Year-on-year changes in filed balance-sheet items. They can hint at momentum (or investment) but are not revenue or profit and must not be read as such.

Net assets: ▲15%; Now £38.4m
Cash at bank: ▲177%; Now £8.7m
Headcount: ▼1%; Now 78
Deferred income: ▼63%; Now £173k
Fixed assets: ▲7%; Now £47.5m

Deferred income is reported together with accruals in this filing (“accruals and deferred income”), so it is an approximate signal only.

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Sources

Companies House profile Filing history & original accounts

Latest figures from FullAccounts for the year to 31 Dec 2024 (profit £5.5m), from the Companies House accounts bulk data published Sep 2025. Spotted an error? Request a correction.

Updated from Companies House on 22 Oct 2026

Contains public sector information from Companies House licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Data from Companies House, © Crown copyright. View the licence.