DWS has completed the acquisition of an interest in Flannery Plant Hire, marking a new partnership designed to support the next phase of growth for the UK construction equipment specialist.

The investment sees DWS acquire its stake from the Flannery family and company management, while the Flannery family retains a significant ownership position in the business. Patrick and Martin Flannery will continue in their existing roles as joint CEOs.

The partnership is intended to strengthen Flannery's position as it continues delivering specialist services to major infrastructure projects across the UK.

Flannery is the UK's largest operated heavy construction plant-hire company, providing large-scale specialist construction machinery together with skilled equipment operators to clients that include leading Tier 1 contractors focused on the infrastructure sector.

The company's operations are heavily aligned with long-term national infrastructure developments, serving projects such as High Speed 2, nuclear energy developments including Hinkley Point C and Sizewell C, and investment programmes across water and electricity grid networks.

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These projects are expected to provide sustained demand for Flannery’s services, supported by broader investment trends in infrastructure and energy development.

Flannery currently operates a fleet of more than 7,900 units across 16 depots throughout the UK and Ireland. The company's fleet is designed to provide nationwide coverage through a diversified range of modern construction equipment.

DWS said the transaction reflects its experience in equipment leasing businesses, its history of partnering with family-owned firms and its understanding of the infrastructure sectors served by Flannery’s client base.

Hamish Mackenzie, Global Head of Infrastructure at DWS, said: "This acquisition aligns strongly with our investment thesis of targeting high-quality, asset-backed infrastructure companies and the current macro investment theme of supply chain resilience. Flannery serves a client base which is benefitting from growing demand for core infrastructure capital investment programmes in transport, energy and utilities in the UK. This demand also stems from secular energy transition and digitalisation trends, which require significant and multi-year capital spend in the UK to drive the economic growth of the country. We are particularly impressed by the strategic and operational excellence of the management team led by Patrick Jr and Martin Flannery over the last 20 years. We are pleased to partner with the Flannery family and the current management team, who will be instrumental to further enhance the value of the Company and ensure it continues to deliver the best service to leading Tier 1 contractors focussed on the infrastructure sector."