The downturn in the construction industry delivered a counter-intuitive boost to profits at Vp, the equipment hire group, as the fall in commercial work drove it towards higher-margin public sector work. Vp reported a 6.7 per cent rise in operating profits in spite of flat revenue.

Neil Stothard, managing director, put the improvement down to changing mix of business towards more resilient infrastructure and oil and gas work. The equipment hire sector has been hard hit over the past year by the collapse in its core construction market.