Further re Newbury Racecourse

Guinness Peat Group PLC 12 March 2008 Guinness Peat Group plc The following is the text of a letter sent yesterday to shareholders of Newbury Racecourse Plc ("Newbury") in respect of resolutions to be put to an Extraordinary General Meeting of Newbury to be held on 19 March 2008 pursuant to a requisition by Guinness Peat Group plc. "To shareholders of Newbury Racecourse Plc 11 March 2008 Dear Fellow Shareholder, "Newbury is at the crossroads" At an Extraordinary General Meeting of Newbury Racecourse PLC ("Newbury" or "the Company") to be held on Wednesday 19 March, Shareholders will vote on the Newbury Board's proposed property development joint venture ("the DWH Proposal") with David Wilson Homes Ltd ("DWH") and GPG's proposal to reconfigure the Newbury Board so that it contains a suitable level of proprietorial involvement. These matters are crucial to the long term future of racing at Newbury and the value of your investment. GPG believes the DWH Proposal would prove disastrous for Shareholder value and that, if implemented, Newbury's share price could fall below £8.00 per Share:- • DWH would gain day-to-day control of more than half of Newbury's assets and in return Newbury would merely receive, over nine and a half years starting as late as 2014, contingent payments, the amounts of which are highly uncertain. • Newbury, with its paucity of property experience, would be exposed for up to 15 years to the vagaries of the housing market - which the February RICS survey reported fell for the seventh consecutive month and at a near-record rate. • The Newbury Board has, in consequence, been unable to commit to net returns, in today's money, of at least £7 per Share, preferring instead to sway Shareholders with non-committal illustrations of "hope value". We strongly urge Shareholders who share GPG's view that the DWH Proposal would be damaging to Shareholder value and is not in the best interests of the Company to vote for Resolution 5. GPG believes that the current Newbury Board has lost sight of its mandate as custodian of the Shareholders' interests in the Company • The "Independent Directors" chose not to follow best practice Corporate Governance and, despite repeated requests in late 2007, refused voluntarily to submit the DWH Proposal to a Shareholder vote. • The Newbury Board has failed to deliver an operating profit over the last five years - or a dividend for the last two - even after the reinvestment of the £8.7 million proceeds from the Company's 2002 sale of land to the south of the racecourse. • The inherently ruinous April 2004 Deed of Grant (a precursor to the proposed redevelopment of the surplus land) with Network Rail Infrastructure Limited ("Network Rail") is the sole recent example of the Newbury Board's experience in negotiating complicated property contracts. It was only after the intervention of the GPG nominee it recognized the unworkable nature of the contract, the revision of which, in November 2007, necessitated a payment to Network Rail of £250,000, having incurred extensive legal costs. The proposed level of proprietorial involvement will ensure that the Newbury Board is, in future, focused on delivering value for all Shareholders. As such, we strongly recommend that Shareholders vote in favour of resolutions 1 to 4 which would implement the proposed reconfiguration. Action to be taken Shareholders who wish to register their support for the resolutions will find enclosed a Form of Proxy for this purpose. A postage paid envelope is enclosed for your convenience. Your votes are important and even if you intend to attend the EGM in person you are strongly urged to lodge a Proxy to arrive no later than Friday 14 March. Yours sincerely Blake Nixon UK Executive Director" J R Russell Company Secretary Guinness Peat Group plc +44 207 484 3370 12 March 2008 Enquiries Citigate Dewe Rogerson Tel: (020) 7638 9571 Kevin Smith This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock Exchange

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