Conditional Agricultural Land Sales

RNS Number : 6802H

UK Coal PLC

16 July 2012

 



16 July 2012

UK COAL PLC

("UK Coal" or "the Group")

Conditional Agricultural Land Sales

UK COAL PLC (UK COAL or the Group) announces that it has exchanged contracts to sell approximately 900 acres of agricultural land, together with the associated buildings to Strawson Group Investments Limited, a privately owned business, and George David Strawson & Elizabeth Anne Bisson, as Trustees of the Omnivale limited Special Pension Scheme.

The consideration is £5 million payable in cash on completion. In addition further consideration may be payable in the event that planning permission is obtained. The right to mine any potential coal in the ground has been retained where appropriate.

The proceeds will be used to reduce borrowings and improve the working capital position of the Group.

These land holdings had a book value of £6.0 million as at December 2011 and generated net rental income of £0.1 million for the year ended 31 December 2011. 

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Enquiries

Analysts and investors

Owen Michaelson                                 Managing Director, Harworth Estates                     Tel: [phone]

David Brocksom                                      Group Finance Director, UK Coal                               Tel: [phone]

Media

Anthony Cardew/

Emma Crawshaw                                    Cardew Group                                                                   Tel: [phone]

Andrew Mackintosh                             Director of Communications, UK Coal                    Tel: [phone]

Notes to Editors

UK COAL is a mining and property company employing c.2,500 people with its headquarters at Harworth Park, Harworth, near Doncaster, South Yorkshire.

Britain's biggest producer of coal, UK COAL operates three deep mines in the Midlands and Yorkshire, and surface mines in the North East, the North West and the Midlands.  Over 90% of the total annual output is sold to generate around 5% of Britain's electricity requirements.

Harworth Estates, the property division of UK Coal, are one of the largest landowners in the UK.  With access to over 30,000 acres of land, Harworth Estates create and develop new opportunities across all sectors of the UK property market.

Harworth Estates is committed to environmental best practice, creating new sustainable communities, thousands of new homes and new business space across Yorkshire, the Midlands and the North.

For more information, please go to:  www.ukcoal.com

 

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