The company, which lends hovermowers, cranes and forklift trucks, has suffered following a rush of newcomers into the cranes and lifting equipment business.
As the City expected, the outcome was a 4.6 per cent drop in interim pre-tax profits to pounds 20.7m, as margins came under pressure from the competition.Since Alistair Napier, the chief executive, issued a warning in May the shares have been in retreat After topping out at 165p, they now fetch 111p. PLANT AND tool hire is not the most glamorous of businesses. Hewden Stuart has found it is not the most profitable either. Add a little negative Internet sentiment, and eXchange holdings looks like one to avoid.. Betting on moneyextra cleaning up in personal finance is risky.That leaves eXweb, which is hardly going gangbusters.

People surely prefer to deal face-to-face, especially on something as important and complex as a mortgage or life policy. eXchange plans to put the bulk of flotation proceeds towards acquisitions to beef up content.eXchange’s detractors argue moneyextra will cannibalise the IFA business This misses the point. That has six lenders signed up already, with a combined pounds 1bn of lending power. Since June, moneyextra ’s users have jumped 33 per cent to 101,000.The supposed moneyspinner here is a mortgage broking facility, emfinance.

Chief executive Paul Lindsey sees growth opportunities in transforming the business from a humble information quote provider to an all-out vendor.The way eXchange is meant to deliver the quantum growth associated with the Net is moneyextra , a personal finance website targeted at “non- high net worth individuals”, according to Mr Lindsey. eXchange garners 50p for every quote the suppliers give; the IFAs pay a monthly fee. Revenue growth lagged volume growth of 25 per cent in the period, because discounts kick in as volumes rise.eXchange has 12,000 individual IFAs out of a potential 40,000 on its books. Is eXchange cheap at 179p?

That eXchange remains loss-making in its eighth trading year is not alarming. Internet companies invest heavily in customer and brand-building.