Interim Management Statement

Boot(Henry) PLC
07 May 2008


Henry Boot PLC announces its first Interim Management Statement for the year
ending 31 December 2008.


The 2007 Annual Report issued to shareholders in April outlined the prospects
for the Group which remains well placed to continue to capitalise on its broadly
based portfolio of assets and opportunities.


The Group has made a strong start to the year, with trading for the first
quarter in line with management expectations.  Gearing has been reduced to below
10% from 39% at 31st December 2007.  The period has been particularly productive
for the business and a number of matters have been progressed or brought to a
conclusion as follows:-



PROPERTY DEVELOPMENTS


  •     At Bromborough, Wirral, we completed the 37,000 sq ft Tebay Retail Park 
        fully let to Homebase and Magnet eight weeks ahead of schedule.

  •     At Saltwood, Junction 11 on the M20, a 50,000 sq ft service station 
        providing facilities for travellers to the Channel Tunnel and the ferry 
        ports of Dover and Folkestone was completed and opened in January 2008.

  •     At Longwell Park, Bristol, we are tendering the construction contract 
        for the development of 25,000 sq ft of offices split into eight small 
        units, aimed at the owner/occupier market.

  •     At the Clifton Moor Retail Scheme, York, PC World has contracted to 
        lease a 25,000 sq ft retail unit. Construction has commenced on site and 
        we expect this development to complete later in 2008.

  •     We acquired a 7.5 acre site in the Westfield Industrial Area of 
        Cumbernauld which will be developed in the future for office and 
        industrial accommodation.

  •     Terms are being negotiated with a major retailer for a 186,000 sq ft 
        distribution centre on our Meir Park site, just off the A50 in 
        Stoke-on-Trent.  If agreed, we expect construction to commence
        later in the year, with completion in 2009.

  •     A planning application has been submitted for a 186,000 sq ft mixed 
        use scheme in Malton, North Yorkshire, to provide 104,000 sq ft of 
        industrial space, 42,000 sq ft of offices and 40,000 sq ft of bulky 
        goods retail space.



LAND PROMOTION AND DEVELOPMENT


  •     At Milton Keynes the sale of a 355 acre site has been completed with our 
        share of sale proceeds exceeding £50m.  This major disposal underpins 
        the financial performance of the Group for the current year.

  •     We received Government approval and outline planning consent for the 
        development of an 8 acre retirement community in St. Albans.  The scheme 
        will involve the creation of a 40 bed care home, 45 assisted living 
        apartments and 65 age restricted homes with other facilities such as a 
        swimming pool and gym.  We have exchanged contracts with Blanchworth 
        Care, who will develop the accommodation.

  •     At Market Harborough we have sold our 50% interest in a 22 acre 
        employment site to our joint development partner.



CONSTRUCTION DIVISION


  •     Our Construction business is holding a record, full order book for 2008 
        with high levels of repeat work scheduled for 2009 and beyond.

  •     We won a £3.4m contract to refurbish two buildings for Sheffield Hallam 
        University, providing computing facilities and design studios.

  •     We continue to work with local authorities in Sheffield, Rotherham, 
        Doncaster and Hull on Decent Homes initiatives and the Prison Service on 
        prison refurbishments in the North of England.

  •     Our plant hire business, Banner Plant, performed well in the first 
        quarter as a result of healthy levels of construction activity.

  •     The PFI project, Road Link, which maintains the A69 between Newcastle 
        and Carlisle for the Highways Agency, has also performed in line with 
        management expectations.



OUTLOOK



Market conditions in the property sector as a whole are challenging and are
likely to remain so for some time to come.  However, the Group has made a very
satisfactory start to the financial year and we are finding that the tougher
markets are already beginning to provide competitively priced opportunities to
replenish our land and development portfolio for the future.



On the basis of our performance to date, the developments that are scheduled to
complete, the land transactions that we expect to bring to the market and our
recurring construction division profits, we remain confident that the Group will
perform in line with market expectations for the current year.







Enquiries to:

Henry Boot PLC
Jamie Boot, Group Managing Director
John Sutcliffe, Group Finance Director & Company Secretary
Tel: [phone]




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