Rival rental groups set up depots at London Olympics site

The two major consortia of companies that will be the key rental providers for the London 2012 Olympic Games will set up two major rental centres at the site by the second quarter of the year, said the Olympic Delivery Authority (ODA).

The two groupings, which include many of the UK's largest rental companies, are:

The Hire Alliance: a consortium comprising A-Plant, HSS Hire, Screwfix, Aggreko, DHL, Greenshields JCB, Hilti and JLG.

Construction Site Solutions LLP: a limited liability partnership between Speedy Hire, Lavendon, BSS Group and Hewden.

Each group will operate one of the rental centres, with Construction Site Solutions at the north of the site and the Hire Alliance at the south. The tender process allowed for the top ranked consortia the first choice of location, but ODA would not say who the 'winner' was.

Both sites are understood to carry broadly similar amounts of construction work and each has its advantages from a rental perspective. The northern site includes the one vehicle access point for the whole site, which makes it a highly visible location, while the southern contract covers two of the major buildings on the project, the £0.5 billion main Olympic stadium and the aquatic centre.

The construction work associated with the games will be valued at around £5.5 billion, which could translate into rental revenues of £80-150 million or more. That figure excludes the rental of other items such as temporary grandstands, fencing and other event-related items.

ODA director of construction, Howards Shiplee, said: "These two facilities, one based at the north and one based at the south of the Park will significantly reduce the number of journeys made within and around the Olympic Park, as workers won't have to leave the Park to pick up and drop off tools and equipment.

"That means that we are reducing congestion and emissions from vehicles by providing facilities nearby that they would usually travel to get. It's another positive step towards making the construction of the Olympic Park as sustainable as possible."

BSS Group and Screwfix are suppliers of power tools, construction consumables as well as plumbing and other equipment for construction trades. The manufacturers and dealers in the two groupings - JLG, Greenshields JCB - will provide support services for the rental companies.