East Anglian crane hire company Quinto Crane & Plant has changed hands in a multi-million deal, with the new owners promising to safeguard the jobs of its 125 employees and pledging future investment.

Quinto, which is based in Norwich and operates from eight locations including Ipswich and Chelmsford, has been acquired by Oliver and Hannah Arnold who run Norfolk-based farm contracting business Spring Farm Partnership.

Mr Arnold said: “There will be a few changes but it will carry on as Quinto and I will be looking to take on new staff and expand. It needs some investment to move the business forward.

“The important thing is that the jobs are secure. It is a massive investment for us but the business has a fantastic reputation and a successful name.”

The company has an annual turnover of £7m, but Mr Arnold said he was confident it would hit £10m next year.

“In a way it is very similar to what we already do with the farm contracting business,” he added. “It is all about logistics and mechanical work.”

Quinto was formed in 1977 through a management buy-out from the Norwich-based Pointer Group, with its name reflecting the five directors involved in the deal and the five depots from which it then operated – at Norwich, Ipswich, Chelmsford, King’s Lynn and Peterborough.

Further depots have since been added in Great Yarmouth, Ware and Leicester, with the company serving local and national building contractors and construction companies, as well as public utilities, local authorities and private industries.

There is also a machinery moving division and a training division. All operators are trained and certified to CITB standards and all cranes and plant are maintained by trained fitters.

The firm has well-established contracts with the likes of the Sizewell and Bacton power stations but Mr Arnold will be looking for new business throughout East Anglia.

All the offices will be retained for now, but Mr Arnold is looking to relocate some to bigger yards to accommodate larger machinery and open new depots.

He has already just acquired a new 300 tonne crane for £1.1m to add to the fleet, the biggest in Quinto’s history, and a further 130 tonne crane.

Mr Arnold was assisted in securing the deal, the exact value of which has not been disclosed, by a team from accountancy firm Larking Gowen, led by Brian Pring, and by Simon Reynolds of B2B Cashflow Solutions.

“We are incredibly proud to buy and own Quinto because it is a company I have known since I was a boy,” Mr Arnold added. “The important thing now is to move forward, invest heavily in new technologies with the main aim of better utilisation of the cranes and modernisation of the fleet.”