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Brendan Horgan

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Brendan Horgan
NationalityAmerican
EducationRadford University (BS)
OccupationBusiness executive
CompanySunbelt Rentals Holdings, Inc. (formerly Ashtead Group plc)
TitleChief Executive Officer, Sunbelt Rentals Holdings

Brendan Horgan is an American business executive who has been chief executive of the equipment rental group formerly known as Ashtead Group plc since May 1, 2019. Since the group moved its corporate domicile to the United States and its primary stock market listing to the New York Stock Exchange in March 2026, he has been Chief Executive Officer of its new parent company, Sunbelt Rentals Holdings, Inc., based in Fort Mill, South Carolina.[1][2]

Horgan has spent his whole recorded career at the company's North American business, Sunbelt Rentals, which he joined in 1996. Horgan worked his way up through regional operations and sales roles to become chief operating officer and, in January 2011, chief executive of the subsidiary and an executive director of its London-listed parent.[3] In January 2018 he became the group's chief operating officer, and in November 2018 the board named him as the successor to Geoff Drabble, who had led Ashtead since 2007.[4]

As group chief executive, Horgan steered the business through the COVID-19 pandemic, launched the "Sunbelt 3.0" strategic plan in April 2021 and its successor "Sunbelt 4.0" in April 2024, and led the move of the group's primary listing from London to New York. Over his tenure annual revenue rose from £4.5 billion in the year to April 2019 to US$11.15 billion in the year to April 2026.[5][6]

Horgan's pay became a recurring point of dispute with the company's British shareholders. Large minorities voted against Ashtead's remuneration resolutions at several annual meetings between 2021 and 2024, and the company argued that UK pay norms left it unable to compete for American executives.[7] As of October 2026 he remains chief executive and a director of the company, and was re-elected to its board at the company's first US annual meeting on September 1, 2026.[8]

Early life and education

Horgan is a United States citizen.[4] His year and place of birth have not been published, but the company's July 2026 proxy statement gave his age as 52.[1] He received a Bachelor of Science degree from Radford University in Virginia; the company's filings do not state the year of his graduation.[1] His brother, Kyle Horgan, also made his career at Sunbelt Rentals.[1]

Career

Sunbelt Rentals, 1996 to 2011

Horgan joined Sunbelt Rentals, the American equipment rental subsidiary of the British company Ashtead Group, in 1996.[3] By the end of 2000 Horgan was working as trading manager for the company's Coastal Atlantic division. In January 2001 the trade journal Rental Equipment Register reported that the company, then based in Charlotte, North Carolina, had named Horgan vice president of operations for its newly formed Southeastern region.[9]

Horgan later held a series of senior posts in the North American business, including chief sales officer and chief operating officer.[10] The company's US filings date his tenure as chief operating officer of the North American business from 2003 until 2011.[1]

Chief executive of Sunbelt Rentals, 2011 to 2019

On January 25, 2011, the subsidiary's chief executive Joe Phelan left the group after less than two years in the post, and Ashtead appointed Horgan, then Sunbelt's chief operating officer, to replace him. Horgan also joined the Ashtead board as an executive director.[3] No reason was given for Phelan's departure. Ashtead's chief executive, Geoff Drabble, told Rental Equipment Register that Phelan had been brought in from outside to provide "a more experienced set of hands" during the downturn of 2009 and 2010, and that with the market improving "perhaps a slightly different skill set is needed". Drabble said Horgan had "a wealth of experience of the U.S. rental industry in general and of the Sunbelt operation in particular".[11]

Horgan told the magazine that he did not plan sweeping changes and would continue with the existing management team. "We are genuinely excited about some of the dynamics unfolding in our industry today in terms of the ever-increasing shift from ownership to rental," he said. Horgan remained based at the company's headquarters in Fort Mill, South Carolina; the business was then ranked third on the RER 100 list of rental companies.[11]

Over the following eight years Horgan ran the North American business while Drabble led the group from London. When Drabble's retirement was announced in 2018, Ashtead chairman Paul Walker said that Horgan had "played a key role in developing and executing Sunbelt's roll out strategy across North America". By that point the American business produced 87 percent of group revenue, with the rest coming from the British A-Plant business.[4] In January 2018 Horgan was made group chief operating officer of Ashtead while keeping his day-to-day responsibility for running the North American business.[10]

Chief executive of Ashtead Group, 2019 to 2026

On November 29, 2018, Ashtead announced that Drabble would step down as chief executive on May 1, 2019, at the end of the financial year, and that Horgan would succeed him. Horgan said he was honoured to have been chosen and that he believed "the group has a tremendous future as it continues to expand".[4] The handover took place as planned on May 1, 2019.[12]

Horgan's first set of annual results as chief executive, covering the year to April 30, 2019, reported revenue of £4.5 billion, up 19 percent, and underlying pre-tax profit of £1.11 billion. The group had invested £1.6 billion in capital spending and £622 million in bolt-on acquisitions, adding 146 locations. Horgan described the strategy as "organic growth supplemented by targeted bolt-on acquisitions".[5]

COVID-19 pandemic

In an April 27, 2020 trading update, the group said that from mid-March 2020 government measures to contain COVID-19 had hurt its end markets. Its rental business was designated an essential business in the United States, United Kingdom and Canada, and supplied equipment to hospitals, testing sites and emergency response efforts. The group said it expected US rental revenue for April 2020 to be about 15 percent below the previous year. General tool rental fell about 18 percent, while the specialty businesses were expected to be about nine percent higher.[13]

Under Horgan the company cut planned capital spending, suspended acquisitions, paused its share buyback from March 19, 2020 and reduced discretionary costs. It also drew an extra $500 million on its senior secured credit facility. The company said it had not made any staff redundant because of the pandemic and did not intend to use the UK government's Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme. "We are grateful for and extraordinarily proud of our team members who continue to respond as essential service providers during a time when our communities are in need," Horgan said.[13]

For the year to April 2020 the group reported revenue of £5.05 billion, up nine percent, and record free cash flow of £792 million.[14] In the following year, to April 2021, revenue was £5.03 billion and adjusted pre-tax profit fell two percent at constant exchange rates to £998 million. Capital spending was cut to £718 million, which helped produce free cash flow of £1.38 billion and brought net debt down to 1.4 times EBITDA.[15]

Sunbelt 3.0

On April 20, 2021, Horgan and chief financial officer Michael Pratt hosted a virtual capital markets day. The event closed out the company's "Project 2021" plan and launched its next phase, which the company named Sunbelt 3.0. The company had resumed greenfield openings in 2020 and bolt-on acquisitions in February 2021, and said it planned to buy back up to £1 billion of shares over the next two financial years. "We emerge from the pandemic in a position of strength," Horgan said.[16]

From the 2021/22 financial year the group reported in US dollars. In the year to April 2022 revenue rose 19 percent at constant currency to $7.96 billion, and the group spent $1.3 billion on 25 bolt-on acquisitions and added 123 locations in North America.[17] In the year to April 2023 revenue grew 24 percent to $9.67 billion. Capital investment was $3.8 billion, and $1.1 billion was spent on 50 bolt-on acquisitions, adding 165 North American locations. Horgan pointed to "the increasing number of mega projects and recent US legislative acts" as drivers of demand.[18]

The company later reported that it had added 401 North American locations during Sunbelt 3.0, between the 2021 and 2024 financial years. Of these, 231 were greenfield openings and 170 came through bolt-on acquisitions. Over the same plan it added about 118,000 new credit account customers.[19]

Sunbelt 4.0

In April 2024 Horgan's management team launched a five-year plan, "Sunbelt 4.0: Runway for Success". It was organised around five components: customer, growth, performance, sustainability and investment. The plan targeted 300 to 400 new greenfield locations in North America; 70 had opened by October 31, 2025. It also set a target of halving Scope 1 and 2 greenhouse gas intensity by 2034 from a 2024 base, and of directing one percent of post-tax profit to community investment by the 2028/29 financial year.[19]

In the year to April 2024 revenue rose 12 percent to $10.86 billion, but adjusted profit fell two percent to $2.11 billion.[7] In December 2024 the company warned that annual profits would be lower than expected because of conditions in local US commercial construction markets.[20] In 2024 the board also began a change of finance chief: Pratt said he would retire, and Alex Pease, formerly chief financial officer of WestRock, joined as chief financial officer designate in October 2024.[21] Pease took over as chief financial officer in March 2025.[19]

US redomiciliation and Sunbelt Rentals Holdings, 2024 to present

On December 10, 2024, the Ashtead board announced that it had concluded the United States was "the natural long term listing venue for the Group". The company noted that 98 percent of its operating profit in the 2024 financial year came from North America, and that its executive team and operational headquarters were in the US. It listed among the expected benefits deeper liquidity, a group rebranding as Sunbelt Rentals, simpler share ownership for employees, better access to US talent, and eligibility for US equity indices.[22] The BBC described the decision as a blow to the London market. It quoted AJ Bell analyst Dan Coatsworth as saying there had been "rumblings" that the move was also a "justification to pay the top brass big money".[20]

Horgan joined the board of the new Delaware holding company in February 2025.[19] The redomiciliation was carried out through a court-approved scheme of arrangement. Each Ashtead ordinary share was exchanged for one share of Sunbelt Rentals Holdings common stock, and Ashtead became a wholly owned subsidiary after the close of trading on February 27, 2026. The new company's shares began trading on March 2, 2026 under the symbol SUNB on the New York Stock Exchange, with a secondary listing kept in London.[2] "Over the past several years, Sunbelt Rentals has made tremendous strides growing our rental business in North America while diversifying our customer base and expanding our addressable markets, all while strengthening our culture and improving safety," Horgan said on the first day of trading.[2]

Before the listing, the company found that its 1.500 percent senior notes maturing in August 2026 had been wrongly shown as a non-current liability in the interim balance sheet in the Form 10 filed in January 2026. It filed an amendment on February 13, 2026 to correct the error. The compensation committee later concluded that the correction counted as an accounting restatement under its new clawback policy but did not affect any executive's pay.[1]

For the year to April 30, 2026, its first full year as a US-listed company, the company reported record revenue of $11.15 billion, up 3.4 percent. Net income was $1.33 billion and free cash flow $2.06 billion. It returned $1.88 billion to shareholders through buybacks and dividends.[6] With the results Horgan announced the $650 million purchase of Reliant Asset Management, a modular space provider trading as Aries Building Systems, which closed on May 1, 2026. He called it "a great example of our bolt-on acquisition strategy".[6] In September 2026 the company reported first-quarter revenue up 11.2 percent to $3.12 billion and raised its guidance for the year. Horgan cited demand from "mega projects, energy, live events, industrial, and non-construction" customers.[23]

Leadership and management style

Horgan has generally presented himself as a continuity leader who rose from inside the business. On becoming Sunbelt's chief executive in 2011 he said the team that had steered the company through the downturn was "still fully intact", and added: "It's been a team effort; it's not a one-man show."[11] The company's US registration statement describes a decentralised structure that gives local management teams operational control within a framework of budgetary oversight. It also notes that the company's other executive officers had been with the group for an average of about 20 years.[19]

Safety is a constant theme in his public statements. His results commentary in 2020, 2021, 2022 and 2023 each described safety as the company's "leading value" and said it was kept "at the forefront" of operations.[14][15][17][18] From the 2027 financial year the company added a total recordable incident rate measure, weighted at 15 percent, to the annual bonus for Horgan and other senior executives.[1]

Horgan's strategy has rested on what he calls structural change in the rental market: the shift of customers from owning equipment to renting it. Horgan has sought to capture that shift through a "clustered market" approach that combines general tool and specialty stores in each local market.[11][19] In 2026 Horgan described the company's "obsession with the success of our customers" as a driver of growth.[23]

Major deals and strategic decisions

  • 2019 to 2023: bolt-on acquisition programme. In the 2018/19 financial year, while Horgan was group chief operating officer, the group spent £622 million on bolt-ons. Under him as chief executive it spent £453 million in 2019/20, £125 million in 2020/21, $1.3 billion on 25 acquisitions in 2021/22 and $1.1 billion on 50 acquisitions in 2022/23.[5][14][15][17][18]
  • 2020: pandemic retrenchment. The company suspended acquisitions and its buyback in March 2020, increased its credit facility by $500 million, and avoided redundancies.[13]
  • 2021: Sunbelt 3.0 and buyback. Alongside the new strategic plan, the board said it expected to buy back up to £1 billion of shares over two years.[16]
  • 2022 to 2023: Britishvolt. In June 2022 the company announced a strategic partnership with Britishvolt, a British battery start-up, to develop batteries for heavy plant equipment, and became one of its larger investors. After Britishvolt collapsed in January 2023, Ashtead wrote off a £31 million equity investment and a £4 million convertible loan.[24]
  • 2024 to 2026: move to the United States. Announced in December 2024 and completed on March 2, 2026, with the group renamed Sunbelt Rentals Holdings and listed on the New York Stock Exchange.[22][2]
  • 2026: Reliant Asset Management. A $650 million purchase of a modular space business, closed on May 1, 2026 and presented as a new specialty line.[6]

Financial and market performance

The table summarises the group's reported annual revenue during Horgan's tenure as chief executive. The company changed its presentational currency from sterling to US dollars from the 2021/22 financial year, and now reports under US GAAP as a US-listed company, so figures are not all directly comparable.

Financial year to April 30 Revenue Notes
2019 £4.50 billion Up 19 percent; underlying pre-tax profit £1.11 billion[5]
2020 £5.05 billion Up nine percent; record free cash flow of £792 million[14]
2021 £5.03 billion Free cash flow £1.38 billion; adjusted pre-tax profit £998 million[15]
2022 $7.96 billion Up 19 percent at constant currency[17]
2023 $9.67 billion Up 24 percent[18]
2024 $10.86 billion Up 12 percent; adjusted profit down two percent[7]
2025 $10.79 billion Comparative figure as reported in the 2026 results[6]
2026 $11.15 billion Net income $1.33 billion; adjusted EBITDA $4.68 billion[6]

By April 30, 2026 the company had 26,016 employees, against 25,041 a year earlier, and 1,611 rental stores, against 1,560.[6] In August 2024 interactive investor reported that Ashtead's shares had risen 28 percent over the previous year and that the group had created £30 billion of shareholder value over 10 years.[7] At the time of the US listing, North America accounted for almost all of the company's operating profit.[2]

Compensation

Horgan's pay under the UK-listed structure drew repeated shareholder opposition:

  • At the September 16, 2021 annual general meeting, 36.03 percent of votes were cast against the remuneration report and 39.28 percent against the new remuneration policy.[25] The 2021 policy included a one-off performance share award tied to the Sunbelt 3.0 plan, worth 350 percent of base salary and measured over three years to April 2024.[26]
  • At the September 6, 2022 meeting, 32.73 percent voted against the remuneration report. The company said it noted "the disappointing level of shareholder support" for that resolution and for the re-election of the remuneration committee chair.[27]
  • For the 2022/23 year Horgan's total remuneration was $8.14 million, up from $5.9 million the year before. interactive investor reported this was the highest for the role since Drabble's £7.2 million in 2014.[26] For 2023/24 it was $7.3 million.[7]
  • In 2024 Ashtead proposed a policy that raised Horgan's maximum performance share award to 700 percent of salary, from 467 percent, and added restricted stock units of up to 150 percent of salary. This was a total opportunity of nearly $14 million, and restricted stock units were unusual in FTSE 100 pay. The proxy adviser Glass Lewis recommended a vote against. Remuneration chair Lucinda Riches defended the plan: "Ashtead is unique. It is a US business that is listed in the UK," and "shareholders must recognise that the competitive context for executive talent for Ashtead differs materially from typical UK norms."[7] The policy passed at the September 4, 2024 meeting with 63.20 percent in favour and 36.80 percent against.[28]
  • At the September 2, 2025 meeting, the remuneration report received 302,732,680 votes for and 17,400,776 against.[29]

In its US proxy statement the company reported Horgan's total compensation for the 2025/26 financial year as $14,627,631, against $12,125,847 for 2024/25, calculated on the SEC's summary compensation table basis. The 2025/26 figure comprised a base salary of $1,210,691, stock awards of $11,077,565, a cash incentive of $2,220,105 and other compensation of $119,271. For 2026/27 his base salary was raised by five percent to $1,271,226, and the holding periods and performance underpins on his outstanding UK-era awards were dropped to align with US practice.[1] At the first US advisory "say-on-pay" vote, on September 1, 2026, 254,415,113 votes were cast in favour of executive compensation and 82,678,437 against.[8]

As of July 6, 2026, Horgan beneficially owned 443,379 shares of the company, less than one percent of the class.[1]

Board memberships and outside roles

Horgan was an executive director of Ashtead Group plc from January 2011 until the 2026 redomiciliation. Horgan has been a director of the US parent company since February 2025, and is the only board member the company does not class as independent.[1] Horgan was re-elected at the September 1, 2026 annual meeting with 336,972,433 votes for and 207,596 against.[8] The company's filings do not list any other public company directorships for Horgan.[1]

Personal life

In 2018 Ashtead's board biography stated that Horgan lived in Charlotte, North Carolina.[10] Horgan's brother, Kyle Horgan, has worked for the company since July 1998. Kyle Horgan became Executive Vice President, Specialty of the North American business in May 2023, and took the same title at the parent company in December 2025. The company discloses Kyle Horgan's pay as a related-party transaction: about $1.08 million in cash compensation for the 2025/26 year.[1]

See also

References

  1. ↑ 1.00 1.01 1.02 1.03 1.04 1.05 1.06 1.07 1.08 1.09 1.10 1.11 <ref>"Sunbelt Rentals Holdings, Inc. 2026 Proxy Statement (Schedule 14A)".U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.July 21, 2026.Retrieved October 29, 2026.</ref>
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 <ref>"Sunbelt Rentals Shares Begin Trading on New York Stock Exchange (Form 8-K, Exhibit 99.1)".U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.March 2, 2026.Retrieved October 29, 2026.</ref>
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 <ref>Pollok, Murray."Horgan promoted to Sunbelt CEO as Joe Phelan leaves".January 26, 2011.Retrieved October 29, 2026.</ref>
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 <ref>Pollok, Murray."Drabble to retire from Ashtead in 2019".November 30, 2018.Retrieved October 29, 2026.</ref>
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 <ref>"Ashtead Group plc: Final Results".Investegate.June 18, 2019.Retrieved October 29, 2026.</ref>
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 6.4 6.5 6.6 <ref>"Sunbelt Rentals Reports Fiscal Fourth Quarter and Full-Year 2026 Results (Form 8-K, Exhibit 99.1)".U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.June 23, 2026.Retrieved October 29, 2026.</ref>
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3 7.4 7.5 <ref>"AGM alert: will shareholders back this $14m US pay deal?".August 23, 2024.Retrieved October 29, 2026.</ref>
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 <ref>"Sunbelt Rentals Holdings, Inc. Form 8-K: Submission of Matters to a Vote of Security Holders".U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.September 2, 2026.Retrieved October 29, 2026.</ref>
  9. ↑ <ref>"A look at who's where in the equipment rental and manufacturing worlds".January 1, 2001.Retrieved October 29, 2026.</ref>
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 10.2 <ref>"The Board".Ashtead Group plc.September 5, 2018.Retrieved October 29, 2026.</ref>
  11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 11.2 11.3 <ref>"Sunbelt Names Brendan Horgan CEO, Replacing Phelan".January 26, 2011.Retrieved October 29, 2026.</ref>
  12. ↑ <ref>"Ashtead Group plc: Directorate Changes".Investegate.May 1, 2019.Retrieved October 29, 2026.</ref>
  13. ↑ 13.0 13.1 13.2 <ref>"Ashtead Group plc: COVID-19 Trading Update".Investegate.April 27, 2020.Retrieved October 29, 2026.</ref>
  14. ↑ 14.0 14.1 14.2 14.3 <ref>"Ashtead Group plc: Q4 2020 Results".Investegate.June 16, 2020.Retrieved October 29, 2026.</ref>
  15. ↑ 15.0 15.1 15.2 15.3 <ref>"Ashtead Group plc: Q4 2021 Results".Investegate.June 15, 2021.Retrieved October 29, 2026.</ref>
  16. ↑ 16.0 16.1 <ref>"Ashtead Group plc: Capital Markets Event and Trading Update".Investegate.April 20, 2021.Retrieved October 29, 2026.</ref>
  17. ↑ 17.0 17.1 17.2 17.3 <ref>"Ashtead Group plc: Q4 2022 Results".Investegate.June 14, 2022.Retrieved October 29, 2026.</ref>
  18. ↑ 18.0 18.1 18.2 18.3 <ref>"Ashtead Group plc: Q4 2023 Results".Investegate.June 13, 2023.Retrieved October 29, 2026.</ref>
  19. ↑ 19.0 19.1 19.2 19.3 19.4 19.5 <ref>"Sunbelt Rentals Holdings, Inc. Registration Statement on Form 10".U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.January 27, 2026.Retrieved October 29, 2026.</ref>
  20. ↑ 20.0 20.1 <ref>"Blow to UK as equipment hire giant Ashtead heads for US".December 10, 2024.Retrieved October 29, 2026.</ref>
  21. ↑ <ref>"Ashtead Group plc: Directorate Change, CFO Succession".Investegate.September 3, 2024.Retrieved October 29, 2026.</ref>
  22. ↑ 22.0 22.1 <ref>"Ashtead Group plc: Proposed Move to a US Primary Listing".Investegate.December 10, 2024.Retrieved October 29, 2026.</ref>
  23. ↑ 23.0 23.1 <ref>"Sunbelt Rentals Reports Record First Quarter Results and Raises Full-Year Fiscal 2027 Guidance (Form 8-K, Exhibit 99.1)".U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.September 9, 2026.Retrieved October 29, 2026.</ref>
  24. ↑ <ref>Ford, Coreena."Britishvolt collapse triggers £35m hit for listed plant hire firm Ashstead".March 10, 2023.Retrieved October 29, 2026.</ref>
  25. ↑ <ref>"Ashtead Group plc: Notice of AGM Results".Investegate.September 17, 2021.Retrieved October 29, 2026.</ref>
  26. ↑ 26.0 26.1 <ref>"Will pay protests continue for this FTSE 100 duo?".August 25, 2023.Retrieved October 29, 2026.</ref>
  27. ↑ <ref>"Ashtead Group plc: Result of AGM".Investegate.September 6, 2022.Retrieved October 29, 2026.</ref>
  28. ↑ <ref>"Ashtead Group plc: Results of AGM".Investegate.September 4, 2024.Retrieved October 29, 2026.</ref>
  29. ↑ <ref>"Ashtead Group plc: AGM Statement and Results".Investegate.September 2, 2025.Retrieved October 29, 2026.</ref>
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