WesternOne Equity Income Fund Reports Q2 2011 Financial Results and Schedules Conference Call

VANCOUVER, Aug. 15, 2011 /PRNewswire/ - WesternOne Equity Income Fund ("WesternOne Equity") (Toronto Stock Exchange: WEQ.UN, WEQ.DB.B and WEQ.DB.C) today announced the release of its financial results for the three and six months ended June 30, 2011.

The results, consisting of WesternOne Equity's unaudited interim financial statements for the three and six months ended June 30, 2011 and Management's Discussion and Analysis ("MD&A") dated August 15, 2011, are available on SEDAR (www.sedar.com).

Financial highlights:

• Significant organic growth in revenue (20.4%), gross profit (39.6%) and EBITDA⁽²⁾ (25.1%) in Q2 compared to the same period in 2010
  
  
• Payout percentage⁽³⁾ of 94.9% in Q2 compared to 259.0% for the same period in 2010 and year-to-date payout percentage of 65.1% compared to 109.0% for the same period in 2010
  
  
• Completion of the acquisition of assets and businesses of the Britco Group on June 1, 2011 for $93.0 million. The acquisition was financed through a public offering of $86.25 million of convertible debentures and an acquisition facility from a senior lender.
  
  
• Britco contributed incremental revenue of $7.1 million and EBITDA of $1.4 million in the second quarter, resulting in total growth of 83.9% for revenue and 84.2% for EBITDA in Q2 compared to the same period in 2010
  
  
• $3.4 million principal amount of WesternOne Equity's convertible debentures (plus interests thereon) were converted to WesternOne Equity units ("Units") in Q2, resulting in a deleveraging of WesternOne Equity's balance sheet and a corresponding increase of 752,325 Units outstanding

"The strong performance in Q2 was attributable to both the acquisition of Britco and the solid organic growth in our key equipment rental and sales markets," said Mr. Darren Latoski, Chief Executive Officer. "The Britco acquisition significantly strengthens our foothold in the construction and infrastructure service sector as we broaden our product offering and customer base, including the high growth oil and gas sector in Alberta. As an integrated service provider, we are excited with the growth prospects in western Canada and beyond."

Conference Call

Darren Latoski, CEO, Carlos Yam, CFO and Geoff Shorten, COO, of WesternOne Equity GP Inc. will host a conference call at 4:30pm (Eastern time) or 1:30pm (Pacific time), on Tuesday, August 16, 2011, to review the financial results and corporate developments for the three and six months ended June 30, 2011.

To participate in this conference call, please dial one of the following numbers approximately 10 minutes prior to the commencement of the call, and ask to join the WesternOne Equity conference call.

Conference Call Replay

If you cannot participate on August 16, a replay of the conference call will be available by dialing one of the following replay numbers. You will be able to dial in and listen to the conference three hours after the meeting end time, and the replay will be available until August 30, 2011. Please enter the Replay ID number 89166906 followed by the # key.

Forward-looking Information

Certain statements in this press release may constitute "forward-looking" information that involves known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors, and it may cause actual results, performance or achievements or industry results, to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements or industry results expressed or implied by such forward-looking information. Forward-looking information is identified by the use of terms and phrases such as "anticipate", "believe", "could", "estimate", "expect", "intend", "may", "plan", "predict", "project", "will", "would", and similar terms and phrases, including references to assumptions. Such information includes, without limitation, statements with respect to: the enhancement of WesternOne Equity's product and service offering and customer base derived from the acquisition of the Britco Group (the "Acquisition"), the growth prospects associated with market expansions derived from the Acquisition, and the benefits that may accrue to WesternOne Equity and its unitholders as a result of the Acquisition. Actual events or results may differ materially.

Forward-looking information contained in this press release is based on certain key expectations and assumptions made by WesternOne Equity, including, without limitation, expectations and assumptions respecting: the outlook of WesternOne Equity's business and the western Canadian economy, the supply and demand for WesternOne Equity's products and services, and management's assessment of future plans and operations. Although the forward-looking information contained in this press release is based upon what the WesternOne Equity's management believes to be reasonable assumptions, WesternOne Equity cannot assure investors that actual results will be consistent with such information. Forward-looking information reflects current expectations of management regarding future events and operating performance as of the date of this press release. Such information involves significant risks and uncertainties, should not be read as guarantees of future performance or results, and will not necessarily be accurate indications of whether or not such results will be achieved. A number of factors could cause actual results to differ materially from the results discussed in the forward-looking information, and a description of these factors can be found under "Risk Factors" in WesternOne Equity's Annual Information Form dated March 31, 2011, which is available on SEDAR (www.sedar.com).

The forward-looking information contained herein is expressly qualified in its entirety by this cautionary statement. Forward-looking information reflects management's current beliefs and is based on information currently available to WesternOne Equity. The forward-looking information is made as of the date of this press release and WesternOne Equity assumes no obligation to update or revise such information to reflect new events or circumstances, except as may be required by applicable law.

About WesternOne Equity

WesternOne Equity seeks to acquire businesses in the sector of construction and infrastructure services in order to generate stable and growing distributions to its unitholders as well as to achieve overall capital appreciation.

Additional Information

Additional information relating to WesternOne Equity, including WesternOne Equity's Annual Information Form and other public filings, is available on SEDAR at www.sedar.com or on WesternOne Equity's website at www.weq.ca.

Trading Symbols

Toronto Stock Exchange: WEQ.UN, WEQ.DB.B and WEQ.DB.C

THE TORONTO STOCK EXCHANGE HAS NOT REVIEWED AND DOES NOT ACCEPT RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE ADEQUACY OR THE ACCURACY OF THIS RELEASE.

SOURCE WesternOne Equity Income Fund