Leading plant sales company Leach Lewis, which has dealerships for a wide range of equipment manufacturers, has gone into administration.

Above: A 1973 shot of Leach Lewis' North Acton depot (from the company's website)

A statement from administrators Ernst & Young said: "On 7 August 2012, Leach Lewis Plant Limited entered administration and Angela Swarbrick and Maurice Moses from Ernst & Young were appointed as Joint Administrators. LLPL is continuing to trade with a view to selling the business as a going concern." 

UK plant sales have certainly been running at a low level for the past few years, and Leach Lewis has gone through some changes in recent months, switched from Bomag to Ammann for compaction equipment this year and from Snorkel to Chinese manufacturer Dingli for access platforms.

Other brands represented by the group include such leading names as Atlas Copco, Doosan, Kubota, Thwaites and Dieci.

Leach Lewis Plant started as the plant department of Hubert C Leach, run by Hubert’s brother, Peter. It was incorporated in 1967 as H.C Leach (Contractors Plant) Limited and floated off as an autonomous organisation.

It acquired London plant hire and sales firm Lewis & Lewis Ltd in 1976 and in 1989 sold its hire business to concentrate on sales.

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