Contract Win

ASHTEAD GROUP PLC                               

                      Ashtead wins Stratford City Project                      

Ashtead Group plc, a leading provider of rental equipment to the UK and US
non-residential construction markets, today announces that its UK subsidiary,
A-Plant, has won the opportunity to provide an on-site rental depot on the 
£1.1bn Bovis Lend Lease Stratford City Project. This will be A-Plant's second
on-site rental depot in Stratford, the first being awarded to the Hire
Alliance; a consortium led by A-Plant.

The Bovis Lend Lease Stratford City Project leaves the legacy after 2012 of new
homes together with new parks, public squares and open space. An education
campus is being constructed alongside multi-use community facilities and new
infrastructure connecting the new buildings with the wider Stratford
environment to create one of the largest new urban parks in Europe for 150
years. Construction work started on the Stratford City Project in June 2008.

Geoff Drabble, Chief Executive of Ashtead commented:

"I'm delighted that our team at A-Plant has won this prestigious opportunity.
This is our second major win of this nature in Stratford. 

"These on-sites, together with our success in the M25 widening project and the
recent award of a four-year contract from the Environment Agency, show that,
despite challenging market conditions, our full product range, integrated
systems capability and comprehensive after-care package allow us to continue to
develop our leading position in the increasingly important infrastructure
market."

Contacts

Ashtead Group PLC                      Tel: [phone]   
Geoff Drabble, Chief Executive                              
Ian Robson, Finance Director                                
                                                            
Asif Latief, Marketing Director,       Tel: [phone]    
A-Plant                                                     
                                                            
Maitland                               Tel: [phone]   
Brian Hudspith / George Hudson                              



Notes to Editors

A-Plant, the second largest equipment rental company in the UK, forms part of
the FTSE-250 company Ashtead Group plc and has excess of 110,000 items of
plant, tools and specialist equipment available to hire from over 110 locations
nationwide. A-Plant is committed to providing the best hire service in Europe
which is reinforced by the company's recent accreditation to both the ISO
14001:2004 standard and OHSAS 18001:2007 specification covering health and
safety and environmental procedures.  The dual recommendation by the British
Standards Institute (BSI) is the first to be achieved by a national rental
company in Europe and A-Plant is also the first major player in the European
hire industry to achieve certification that covers the entire scope of the
company's operations encompassing all of the company's depots and
administration centres.