PRESS RELEASE : Nixon Hire announces leadership transition

CEO Graham Nixon to become Non-Executive Director, succeeded by COO Brian Cornett

Newcastle-upon-Tyne, 22 July 2025 - Nixon Hire today announces a forthcoming change in leadership as part of the company’s continued evolution. After ten years as Chief Executive Officer and 37 years at the company, Graham Nixon will transition to the role of Non-Executive Director on the main Board. He will remain the company’smajority shareholder and continue to play an active role in guiding the company’s strategic direction while steppingback from day-to-day operations. The company’s current Chief Operating Officer, Brian Cornett, will succeed him as CEO from 1 August 2025

Graham, who took over the family business from his father John Nixon in 2005, has been instrumental in reshaping Nixon Hire from a generalist hire company into a specialist partner focused on sustainable site solutions. As part of this transition, the company sold its large plant business in 2024 and most recently announced the sale of its welfarevan business so that it can redeploy capital and resources to focus on sustainable site solutions. With significant progress made in this transition and having established a first-class senior leadership team, Graham is relocating overseas as part of a long-planned family move.

Brian joined Nixon Hire in May 2024 and has worked closely with Graham since his arrival. He brings deep commercial and operational expertise, having previously served as UK Operations Director at Cross Rental Services and, before that, co-founder of Speedy Hire’s Power Division. Since joining the business Brian has played a key role in advancing Nixon Hire’s vision, executing the transitional steps required to align the company with itsstrategy, strengthening its operational focus on customer needs and positioning it for long-term, sustainable growth.

The leadership change is part of a carefully considered succession strategy, fully supported by the company’sshareholders, and comes at a time of strong momentum for the business. The 2024 financial results for John Nixon Limited also announced recently record turnover increasing by 8.6% to £108.3 million (2023: £99.6 million) and operating profit increasing by 6.3% to £7.8 million (2023: £7.4 million).

Graham Nixon, outgoing CEO, said:

“It’s been an incredible privilege to lead Nixon Hire and to build on the legacy my father began. The company has been a huge part of my life since I first started out in the depot at the age of 16, and I’m proud of how far we’vecome – especially the way we’ve adapted and evolved to reflect customer needs resulting in stronger growth overtime.

“What’s made the journey so special are the people I’ve worked alongside, many of whom have had careers in thebusiness spanning several decades. Nixon Hire has always been about people – colleagues, customers andbusiness partners. I’m incredibly grateful for the support, dedication, and friendships I’ve built along the way, many of which I know I’ll have for life.

“With Nixon Hire in a strong financial, market and leadership position and a wealth of opportunity ahead, now feels like the right time to hand over the reins and begin a new chapter abroad with my family. I’ll remain involved as aNon-Executive Director and look forward to supporting Brian and the wider team as we continue to pursue ourambition to become the UK’s leading experts in sustainable sites.”