Growth plan for New Zealand scaffold company

Family owned Acrow Group, New Zealand's largest scaffolding company, has been bought for an undisclosed sum by Hauraki Private Equity No. 2 Fund (a Goldman Sachs JB Were fund). The deal covers Acrow's nine branches and 290 staff. Acrow reported earnings before tax of NZ$9 million (US$6.3 million) for the year ending 31 March, 2005. It was formed in 2000 through the private acquisition of listed Australian company Boral.

The acquisition is the first stage of Hauraki's plan to build a building services group in New Zealand with an annual turnover of NZ$30 million ($21 million). The fund plans to expand the operation by making five or six similar sized acquisitions and the establishment of depots in at least six more regions in the country.