Harworth Estates

PLANS FOR A NEW COMMUNITY OF AROUND 4,000 HOMES AND ASSOCIATED INFRASTRUCTURE ON UK COAL’S FORMER WAVERLEY SURFACE MINE SITE BETWEEN ROTHERHAM AND SHEFFIELD ARE NOW BEING CONSIDERED. ROTHERHAM COUNCIL SUPPORTS THE PRINCIPLE OF DEVELOPMENT AT THE SITE, WITH AN ADVANCED MANUFACTURING PARK ALREADY BEING DEVELOPED AND ATTRACTING INCREASING INTEREST FROM HIGH-TECH COMPANIES.

The first half of 2008 has been the most difficult period for the property industry since 1990. Notwithstanding this, our property business has delivered profits in the first half of the year of £20.5 million (December 2007: £54.0 million) including investment property valuation gains of £19.8 million (December 2007: £51.0 million).

Although we are certainly not immune from the market, we believe that we are differentiated from most of our property peer groups as our land portfolio is at an early stage in its development life and also contains a significant agricultural element. For these reasons, the RICS valuation, produced by external valuers, of our property portfolio increased from £410.7 million at the end of 2007 to £438.4 million at 30 June 2008. After allowing for purchases, depreciation and development spend, the net gain in the first half of the year on a like-for-like basis was 5%.

PORTFOLIO RICS VALUATION AS AT 30 JUNE 2008

Valuation summary by classification

* The like-for-like percentage change and December 2007 comparatives are after property reclassifications and take into account adjustments for asset sales and development expenditure.

In July we received confirmation that several of our residential schemes in Project Worth now sit in areas confirmed as Housing Growth Points under the latest Government plans for meeting demand for additional new homes over the next decade. As a result, we will make a stronger case for increased housing numbers on our various mixed use projects in the North East, West and South Yorkshire and the East Midlands.

Over the past six months we have continued the promotion of our Eco-town project at Rossington, Doncaster and have had several meetings with Government, its Eco-town Challenge Panel and, most recently, on site with the Housing Minister. The project now consists of 5,000 homes, 3,500 of which are on our own brownfield land, the former pithead of Rossington Colliery. The balance is on adjoining previously developed land in single third party ownership, making our ability to deliver this project, from a land assembly perspective, a key differentiator for us in the Eco-town contest. Successful sites will be awarded special planning status in the first quarter of 2009.

In the period we have continued to promote several major planning applications including particularly the joint venture project, G-Park at Lounge, Ashby de la Zouch, (850,000 sqft with Gazeley) and at Coalville (589,000 sqft joint venture with Graftongate Developments).

Whilst our planning consent for a major rail-related business park at Gascoigne Wood in North Yorkshire has been challenged in the courts, the Secretary of State (and Harworth Estates) had the consent confirmed at High Court in May this year. Although the third party challenging the decision has sought leave to refer that decision to the Court of Appeal, we believe that this challenge will not be sustained. Gascoigne Wood can deliver a major community regeneration and job creating project for the Selby area and development there has all party support from the Local Authority.

At Cutacre, Bolton, our major premium business park proposal, on part of the current surface mining project, has been identified as the Council’s Preferred Option for its employment site in the Local Development Framework.

At the turn of the half year, we submitted the planning application for a community of approximately 3,900 new homes at Waverley in Rotherham (an area now designated by Government as a Housing Growth Point) and we will shortly be submitting an application for the adjoining circa 650,000 sqft Helical Governetz joint venture scheme, providing Government with environmentally sound and cost effective relocation offices.

UK COAL CHIEF EXECUTIVE JON LLOYD OUTLINES THE CONCEPT OF THE ROSSINGTON ECOTOWN PROJECT TO COMMUNITIES MINISTER IAIN WRIGHT. IF THE SCHEME IS APPROVED, AROUND 5,000 NEW HOMES COULD BE BUILT ON PREVIOUSLY DEVELOPED LAND AT THE FORMER COLLIERY SITE.

Harworth Estates currently owns in excess of 46,500 acres of land

At the Prince of Wales Colliery, Pontefract, our scheme to provide initially 913 houses and 250,000 sqft of employment space, has received approval from the Planning Committee of Wakefield Council and will now be referred to the Government Office for Yorkshire to confirm that the Council can proceed to issue the planning consent.

We will continue to report on the progress of the RICS valuation on a half yearly basis and the management estimate of Project Worth on an annual basis. Notwithstanding the current market turbulence, we continue to believe both these measures are likely to increase in the medium term as planning milestones are achieved.