The business and assets of the hire & sale division of Rapid Climate Control (“Rapid”) have been sold to Ashtead Plant Hire Company Limited (“A-Plant”).

Neil Gostelow and William Wright, insolvency practitioners at KPMG, were appointed joint administrators of Rapid Climate Control Limited today (18 January). Rapid, which has its head office in West Thurrock, operates three divisions. The first hires and sells air conditioning and heating units to the Facilities Management sector, whilst the second carries out plumbing fit-outs for large housing developments. A smaller third division installs air conditioning and heating units into retail outlets.

Immediately following their appointment, the joint administrators sold the business and assets of the hire & sale division of Rapid to A-Plant, a subsidiary of Ashtead Group plc.

Neil Gostelow, director at KPMG and Joint Administrator, said: “The disposal of the hire & sales division to A-Plant is an excellent strategic fit combining Rapid’s first-class reputation in the hire & sale of air conditioning and heating units with A-Plant’s strong brand and broad customer base. The sale secures over 60 jobs for Rapid’s skilled and loyal workforce and secures the best possible return to the company’s creditors”.

He continued: “Unfortunately, however, the other two divisions of the company proved to be unattractive to potential buyers. We will be assisting those 24 affected employees in claiming redundancy payments from the Redundancy Payments Office.”