Vehicle hire group Go Plant is ready to expand its geographical reach after it was bought by a private investment company.

Easternrange acquired the business from mid-market private equity firm Graphite Capital for an undisclosed sum.

Graphite exited the company 12 years after it backed a £3.5 million buy-out from the environmental services division of AAH. The firm has continued to support Go Plant’s growth since its original investment and provided £1.8 million to buy Shropshire Road Sweepers in 1999.

This latest transaction, together with a previous re-financing of the business, has earned Graphite a return of 4.2 times its total investment.

Go Plant’s managing director, Patrick Tierney, who led the buy-out in 1995, said with Easternrange’s backing the company will be looking at potential acquisitions.

Leicestershire-based Go Plant has a fleet of more than 1,000 specialist vehicles including road sweepers, refuse vehicles and gully clearing machines. It supplies its vehicles for self hire or with drivers to local authorities, house builders, road maintenance providers and other industrial businesses. It operates from 20 depots across the UK.