Following the merger Rotary will continue to trade under its own name with an unaltered management and staff providing a significant presence for the combined group in Rotary’s well established UK, Irish and Middle Eastern markets.  A new Northern Hemisphere Advisory Board will be established to oversee the combined interests of the two companies in their markets.  Shamus Jennings CBE, Chief Executive Officer of Rotary, will be Chairman of this board joined by Dr Francis Jennings, Chairman of Rotary together with Hastie Group Managing Director and CEO David Harris, and Hastie Finance Director Chris Woodward.  The Jennings family will be the largest individual shareholder in the newly combined group.

Commenting in a joint statement, Shamus and Francis Jennings said: “The coming together of Rotary and Hastie represents one of the most important initiatives to take place in this specialised sector for many years.  The services both companies offer complement each other perfectly and the culture of high quality professional delivery provides a unique synergy and world leading capability.  This combination preserves our strong culture and helps create significant opportunity for further growth.”

“We are confident that this partnership will create a new dynamic for future success.  Existing and potential clients will benefit from a combined expertise and breadth of experience unparalleled in our respective markets whilst our employees will enjoy new opportunities through being part of a larger group.  We look forward to working with David Harris and his team towards our joint objective of sustained growth and further expansion.”

David Harris, Hastie Group Managing Director and CEO continues, “This is a fantastic opportunity for both companies, creating a major international participant in the building services industry.  UK-based Rotary provides many of the same services to the same customer sectors as Hastie and operates a very similar decentralised business model.  This deal provides immediate scale in the large UK market and strengthens our position in the Middle East where both Hastie and Rotary have growing revenues.  This greatly assists my vision of creating a “world class” business.”

Also welcoming the announcement Hastie Chairman, Trevor Bourne, said, “While Hastie continues to enjoy good growth prospects, both organically and via acquisition in Australia, Rotary provides substantial additional market opportunities.  We believe there are significant advantages to be generated which will position us to win and execute large projects in the UK, Australia and the growth markets of the Middle East.  This newly merged group joins two specialist companies who are market leaders and have similar cultures.”

About Rotary
Established in 1954, Rotary is a leading provider of essential building services in the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland.  In addition, Rotary has successfully completed projects in 40 other countries, including the Middle East.  Rotary specialises in the provision of air conditioning/mechanical, electrical and maintenance services, primarily to the healthcare, education, industrial, commercial and retail sectors.  Rotary has in excess of 2,000 staff based in eight countries, with the majority located in its core markets of the UK and the Republic of Ireland.

Rotary is a well-established business with a solid track record (and a turnover in 2007 of £238M).  The company has a strong forward order book with a majority of forecast revenues for the 12 months to 30 September 2008 underpinned by project contracts in the final stages of negotiation or identified projects at the tender stage.

About Hastie
Hastie Group Limited is the largest commercial and industrial air conditioning, refrigeration, electrical and hydraulics group in Australia, with subsidiaries active in the UK and United Arab Emirates.  With turnover of A$1.0 Billion (£500 million) the Hastie Group has in excess of 4,000 employees based at over 50 locations.  The group operates under brands which are well recognised in their markets, and customers include many of the largest construction companies, shopping centre groups, industrial corporations and facility managers.  Hastie Group Limited is a member of the S&P/ASX-300 index.

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