Re Joint Venture

Helical Bar PLC
28 November 2007



28 November 2007


                HELICAL BAR PLC ('Helical Bar' or 'The Company')
                            UK COAL PLC ('UK COAL')


       HELICAL BAR PLC AND UK COAL PLC ANNOUNCE JOINT VENTURE PARTNERSHIP

Helical Bar plc and UK COAL plc, the UK's biggest producer of coal and the
developer of one of Britain's largest brownfield property estates, announce
today a 50/50 joint venture partnership to develop a 660,000 sq ft government
office campus at Waverley, Rotherham, Sheffield, on the 300 hectare site of a
former coal mine owned by UK COAL. The scheme is estimated to cost some £140
million over a five year development period.

Helical Bar, through its subsidiary Helical Governetz Ltd, and UK COAL, through
its property division Harworth Estates, are to create a purpose built campus to
fit the needs of government organisations and private sector suppliers
relocating as a result of the findings of the Lyons, Gershon and Varney reports,
all of which call for fundamental changes in the way in which the Public Sector
operates and is housed in the future.

This 50/50 joint venture is part of a larger plan by UK COAL to create a new
sustainable mixed-use community in the area which will provide 4,000 homes, a
business park, a range of community facilities, a park and ride and a country
park.  It is anticipated that up to 6,000 new jobs will be created as a result
of UK COAL's wider plans for the regeneration of the area.

Planning work can now move forward as marketing within the public sector begins,
with a view to construction commencing in Spring 2009, for delivery in Autumn
2010.


Mike Slade, Chief Executive of Helical Bar, commented:

'It is clear from the pre-budget report that savings in the government estate
are now paramount. This partnership with UK COAL is, therefore, an important
step forward in our drive to provide accommodation to meet the Government's
evolving occupational requirements across the UK and follows on from our similar
government campus project at Newport West in South Wales in partnership with
Welsh Assembly Government.  We are delighted to be working with UK COAL to
fulfil the needs of the 21st century public sector estate, while also helping to
regenerate the largest single brownfield development site in South Yorkshire. In
line with Helical's proven strategy, we will drawdown sections for development
as pre-lettings are achieved to public sector organisations and private sector
suppliers, with the longer-term target of securing a forward-sale of the campus
to investing institutions.'


Jon Lloyd, Chief Executive of UK COAL, said:

'Waverley is the largest of our development sites and this joint venture with
Helical is a key step in completing the commercial element of our scheme.  The
new community planning for the site is progressing on schedule and the
restoration work of the former Waverley surface mine site is being completed to
plan.

We are delighted to be teaming up with Helical and to contribute to changing and
improving government office space. The site is an exemplar project where people
can work, live and play in a new creative environment development on a site with
a long industrial past.'

The Waverley site has received national recognition through the Academy for
Sustainable Communities (ASC) and LDA Design, one of the UK's leading
environmental design practices.


David Werran, Chief Executive of Governetz Ltd, said:

'The Public Sector Reform Programme will revolutionise the way in which the
public sector operates particularly through the rationalisation of government
real estate where huge savings can be achieved through public sector
organisations and their private sector suppliers clustering on campus type sites
where they can share services and present a joined-up approach to the general
public.'


Roger Stone, Leader of Rotherham Borough Council, said:

'This is an exciting new prospect, creating the potential to substantially
broaden and expand the opportunities for jobs in the management and clerical
sectors of our community.  We very much look forward to receiving the planning
application so that we can engage in a meaningful consultation process on this
proposal.'

Helical Governetz is a 50:50 joint venture between Helical Bar and Governetz,
and this JV with UK COAL is one of five projects that Helical Governetz is
currently working on throughout the UK. The aim of these projects is to work
constructively with Government organisations and suppliers to relocate to a
single campus where they are able to share both accommodation and business
support services. Helical Governetz aims to develop a two million square feet
portfolio, with an end value of some £600m.

As well as the Waverley project announced today, there are a total of five
projects that Helical Governetz is working on throughout the UK principally
including:

  • Project Newport West in Wales was the first project for the Helical
    Governetz JV. This development is in partnership with the Welsh Assembly
    Government to create up to 550,000 sq ft of offices designed specifically
    for particular end users in government departments.
  • In Staffordshire, Helical Governetz are working on the first phase of a
    600,000 sq ft office campus, in partnership with Keele University, as part
    of their existing successful business and science park.



For further information, please contact:

Helical Bar plc                                    UK COAL plc
Michael Slade (Chief Executive)                    Jon Lloyd (Chief Executive)
Nigel McNair Scott (Finance Director)              Tim Love (Development Director)
Tel: [phone]                                 Tel: [phone]

Financial Dynamics for Helical Bar                 Media:
Stephanie Highett/Dido Laurimore/Laurence Jones
Tel: [phone]                                 Citigate Dewe Rogerson : 0207 638 9571
                                                   Anthony Carlisle: 07973 611 888
                                                   Laure Lagrange: 07768 698 731

                                                   Operations:
                                                   Stuart Oliver : 01525 381759
                                                   UK COAL Plc


Notes to Editors:

Helical Bar is a UK based property development and investment company listed on
the London Stock Exchange. Under the leadership of Chief Executive Mike Slade,
the Company has created and sustained one of the largest development and
investment programmes in the country. The spread of activities across the
Company gives Helical Bar flexibility to deploy capital rapidly across the
business and focus on whatever opportunities offer the best returns at different
points of the property cycle.

For more information, please visit www.helical.co.uk

UK COAL is a mining, property and power company employing 3,100 people with its
headquarters at Harworth Park, Harworth, near Doncaster, South Yorkshire.

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

The property division, managed by Harworth Estates, owns around 47,500 acres of
land and other property.  With a RICS valuation of £398m, the Company estimates
the portfolio land value in 2012 with the benefit of planning consents to be
£900m.  Over 70 sites, covering a developable area of over 3,300 acres have been
identified for development, creating opportunities for building around 20,000
homes and 29 million square feet of employment space over the next six years.

The power business, Harworth Power, includes the generation of electricity using
engines to burn methane extracted from collieries for safety reasons, and the
development of wind farms on 10 or more sites, mainly in the North East and the
Midlands.


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

Governetz Limited: Following a long career in the civil service David Werran
founded Governetz in February 2001 as a specialist civil service consultancy
with relocation of government as its core activity. Governetz also works
extensively with local, regional and central government organisations in other
parts of the UK and has established a much valued trusted third party status in
its dealings.


For more information go to www.governetz.com


                      This information is provided by RNS
            The company news service from the London Stock Exchange