Shares of Manchester-based tool and equipment rental firm HSS Hire Group plc rose 11% on Thursday after it agreed to sell its heating, ventilation and air-conditioning business All Seasons Hire Limited to Cross Rental Services for £55 million.

The proceeds will principally be used to accelerate the repayment of debt.

HSS Hire Group also published results for the 27 week period ended July 3, 2021, showing revenue rose 22% to £150.5 million, and the firm made a profit before tax of £11.2 million versus a loss of £12.9 million in the prior period.

HSS Hire Group CEO Steve Ashmore wrote: “The first half of 2021 has been one of significant progress and I am very pleased with what we have accomplished.

“We started the year with strong momentum and trading continued to improve over the period, with Q2 21 revenues at 102% of 2019 levels, EBITDA and EBITA margins up and ROCE at a record level.

“This strong performance, combined with the post balance sheet date sale of All Seasons Hire, has allowed us to reduce leverage to around 1.0x, well below our 2.0x target, completing the final element of the strategic plan set out in 2017: to Delever the Group, Transform the Tool Hire business and Strengthen our Commercial proposition.

“The group has made strong progress over the last four years so that HSS today is unrecognisable from the HSS of 2017.

“Our unrivalled digital capabilities allow us to offer our customer what they need, when they need it, servicing demand through our 500+ partner supply chain.

“Leveraging our differentiated customer offering, highly-evolved technology platform, and scalable structure built around two key divisions, we are uniquely positioned to capitalise on market opportunities as we begin the next exciting phase of our growth.”