Perthshire farmer and entrepreneur Morris Leslie has placed a record-breaking order for £87.5 million worth of JCB machines – the company’s biggest-ever deal in the UK.
Morris Leslie Plant Hire is based in Perth and operates across the UK, with many customers working in the Scottish farming sector.
The company’s new machines include a bumper deal for 50 JCB backhoe loaders.
The investment will also see the company take delivery of Loadall telescopic handlers, excavators, site dumpers, and compaction equipment.
The order will be supplied by dealer Scot JCB to Morris Leslie’s 14 nationwide depots throughout 2023.
The plant hire business was started on Mr Leslie’s parents’ farm in the Carse of Gowrie, where he began buying and selling construction equipment.
He now owns and operates four arable farms in Perthshire and Angus covering a total of 2,000 acres.
Mr Leslie said: “Our business was founded on a farm in 1974 and I am proud that farmers and the wider agricultural community continue to be vitally important to the success of the company today.
“This order ensures we can continue to support them with the very latest and best equipment.
“We are delighted to have agreed our largest-ever order with our long-term partner JCB to support our 2023 growth plans and by the end of the year our entire JCB fleet will be operating with the latest Stage V engines.
We are proud of our long-standing partnership with Morris Leslie Plant Hire.”
JCB sales managing director Marco Bersellini.
“The backhoe loader part of the order is particularly pleasing, and we look forward to seeing ongoing growth of our JCB 3CX fleet.
“The backhoe continues to be hugely popular with our customers thanks to its excellent loading and excavating capabilities and the ability to travel directly to the site, cutting the need for costly transportation.
“Scot JCB and other JCB dealers around the UK continue to provide first-class service to our depots and our customers.”
JCB sales managing director Marco Bersellini said: “We are proud of our long-standing partnership with Morris Leslie Plant Hire.
“This deal confirms that JCB has exactly the right products to meet the needs of hirers and end users.”
Conversation