The UK forklift market is bucking global trends and appears cashed up and ready to buy, according to the most recent Acquisition Study analyst Plimsoll Publishing.

Plimsoll's survey of the UK's top 420 forklift companies finds that the industry is "awash with cash and companies should use this time to go on the offensive and buy up the competition".

The findings come at a time when it's impossible to pick up a paper, or watch the news, without seeing a story about how the credit market is affecting the performance of UK companies and slowing acquisition activity.

The report found that the driving force of this move in the market is a group of 142 companies which, over the last few years, have built up a stock resource of cash, putting them in a very strong position.

"There is absolute evidence that the rich are getting richer as the gap between those making massive profits and those missing out has widened in the last few years," notes David Pattison, senior acquisition analyst. "There has never been a better time for these dynamic companies to splash the cash."

The report suggests that 2008 is the perfect time to consider an acquisition, but also points out that the profile of acquisition needs to change.

"For years, acquisition activity in the forklift trucks industry has been driven by distressed fire sales. Acquirers have been reluctant to invest heavily; instead, they have been content to snap up bargain basement companies, often getting bad deals, paying peanuts and getting monkeys," Pattison explains.

"This attitude needs to change. What our report suggests is that companies need to look at the wider strategic picture and spend their money wisely."

As part of the study, each of the UK's top 420 forklift trucks companies have been valued and assessed on their future prospects. The report finds that there are 113 companies in the market who would make good strategic acquisitions. These attractive companies are operating in the growth areas of the market and are all extremely profitable.

"Having the resources to buy one of these 113 powerful players is the perfect situation. In doing so, you take a strong adversary to your own company out of the market immediately, and it will instantly be generating profitability. The next step is then to focus your attention on the 99 companies we have identified who are failing anyway, pushing them out of the market. This may sound harsh, but if the industry is to develop and evolve, then there will need to be casualties. Our latest study shows the candidates least likely to survive 2008 are pretty obvious," the analyst concludes.