Perthshire plant hire giant Morris Leslie has placed an order for new JCB machines worth £68 million.
The firm said the order – placed at the start of its 50th anniversary celebrations – shows its confidence in the UK’s housebuilding and construction market.
Scot JCB will supply the substantial order. It includes Loadall telescopic handlers, X Series excavators, mini excavators, compaction rollers and site dumpers.
The deal also includes 50 JCB backhoe loaders – one for every year Morris Leslie Plant Hire has been in business and a product on which the success of the company was built.
7,000 JCB machines in 50 years
Based at West Kinfauns, Morris Leslie Plant Hire is no stranger to placing large orders for its 15 UK depots.
It prides itself on having the youngest fleets in the industry. Last year Morris Leslie placed the largest ever JCB order in the UK worth £87.5m.
Entrepreneur Morris Leslie founded the company on his parents’ farm in the Carse of Gowrie in 1974, where he began buying and selling construction equipment.
Today his company has a fleet of more than 5,000 machines.
Commenting on the latest order, Mr Leslie said: “Over the years we have bought more than 7,000 JCB machines.
“Our success over the past half century is very much intertwined with JCB and we look forward to building on our partnership.”
The investment comes after the Perthshire business recorded the highest profits in its history, delivering £12.7m pre-tax profits on £71.7m sales last year.
The Morris Leslie group also has auction and property interests and it recently entered the holiday lodge sector with a development near Alyth.
JCB on Morris Leslie support
The new machines will arrive throughout 2024.
JCB chairman Anthony Bamford handed over the keys to one of the backhoes to Mr Leslie.
He said: “We are very proud of our long association with Morris Leslie Plant.
“The company has grown from very small beginnings into a force to be reckoned with in the plant hire sector.”
Morris Leslie is also developing plans for a £50m hotel, museum and lodges development on land neighbouring its Perthshire headquarters.
