Vp comes for Cropper

Equipment rental firm Vp has acquired concrete foundations equipment specialist Mr Cropper in a deal viewed as a very good fit by analysts. Vp has agreed to buy Mr Cropper outright for £4.6m, strengthening the group's groundworks division with Cropper's market leading position in the rental of machines that crop concrete piles to the UK construction sector. Mr Cropper, which has been established for 13 years, operates across the whole of the UK with two locations in the South East and Midlands.Vp Chairman Jeremy Pilkington said: "The specialist nature of the business is an excellent fit for Vp and Mr Cropper will provide complementary activities in support of our other businesses operating in the groundworking and construction sectors."Broker N+1 Singer said it expected any small impact on full year 2014 forecasts would likely to be offset by initial integration costs and an increase in the net interest charge.But analyst James Tetley has upgraded profit forecasts for the following two years by 2.0% in each year, with earnings per share forecasts for 2014, 2015 and 2016 are 33.5p, 35.9p and 37.6p. He says: "As a market leader in a highly specialised area of activity, Mr Cropper looks like a very good fit for Vp, which strengthens the group's offering in the groundworking and construction sectors. "It also provides a reminder that complementary, earnings enhancing acquisitions remain a feature of the Vp investment case, alongside the solid organic growth that has been reported in recent periods."Shares in Vp were down 0.9% to 435.75p at 11:29 on Wednesday. OH