Helical Bar Regulatory News (HLCL)

28 Nov 2007 07:00

UK Coal PLC28 November 2007 28 November 2007 UK COAL PLC ("UK COAL") HELICAL BAR PLC ("Helical Bar" or "The Company") UK COAL PLC AND HELICAL BAR PLC ANNOUNCE JOINT VENTURE PARTNERSHIP UK COAL plc, the UK's biggest producer of coal and the developer of one ofBritain's largest brownfield property estates, and Helical Bar plc announcetoday a 50/50 joint venture partnership to develop a 660,000 sq ft governmentoffice campus at Waverley, Rotherham, Sheffield, on the 300 hectare site of aformer coal mine owned by UK COAL. The scheme is estimated to cost some £140million over a five year development period. UK COAL, through its property division Harworth Estates, and Helical Bar,through its subsidiary Helical Governetz Ltd, are to create a purpose builtcampus to fit the needs of government organisations and private sector suppliersrelocating 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 Sectoroperates and is housed in the future. This 50/50 joint venture is part of a larger plan by UK COAL to create a newsustainable mixed-use community in the area which will provide 4,000 homes, abusiness park, a range of community facilities, a park and ride and a countrypark. It is anticipated that up to 6,000 new jobs will be created as a resultof 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 Autumn2010. Mike Slade, Chief Executive of Helical Bar, commented: "It is clear from the pre-budget report that savings in the government estateare now paramount. This partnership with UK COAL is, therefore, an importantstep forward in our drive to provide accommodation to meet the Government'sevolving occupational requirements across the UK and follows on from our similargovernment campus project at Newport West in South Wales in partnership withWelsh Assembly Government. We are delighted to be working with UK COAL tofulfil the needs of the 21st century public sector estate, while also helping toregenerate the largest single brownfield development site in South Yorkshire. Inline with Helical's proven strategy, we will drawdown sections for developmentas pre-lettings are achieved to public sector organisations and private sectorsuppliers, with the longer-term target of securing a forward-sale of the campusto investing institutions." Jon Lloyd, Chief Executive of UK COAL, said: "Waverley is the largest of our development sites and this joint venture withHelical is a key step in completing the commercial element of our scheme. Thenew community planning for the site is progressing on schedule and therestoration work of the former Waverley surface mine site is being completed toplan. We are delighted to be teaming up with Helical and to contribute tochanging and improving government office space. The site is an exemplar projectwhere people can work, live and play in a new creative environment developed ona site with a long industrial past." The Waverley site has received national recognition through the Academy forSustainable Communities (ASC) and LDA Design, one of the UK's leadingenvironmental design practices. David Werran, Chief Executive of Governetz Ltd, said: "The Public Sector Reform Programme will revolutionise the way in which thepublic sector operates particularly through the rationalisation of governmentreal estate where huge savings can be achieved through public sectororganisations and their private sector suppliers clustering on campus type siteswhere they can share services and present a joined-up approach to the generalpublic." Roger Stone, Leader of Rotherham Borough Council, said: "This is an exciting new prospect, creating the potential to substantiallybroaden and expand the opportunities for jobs in the management and clericalsectors of our community. We very much look forward to receiving the planningapplication so that we can engage in a meaningful consultation process on thisproposal." For further information, please contact: Helical Bar plc UK COAL plcMichael Slade (Chief Executive) Jon Lloyd (Chief Executive)Nigel McNair Scott (Finance Director) Tim Love (Development Director)Tel: 020 7629 0113 Tel: 01302 755 002 Financial Dynamics for Helical Bar Media:Stephanie Highett/Dido Laurimore/Laurence Jones Citigate Dewe Rogerson : 0207 638 9571Tel: 020 7831 3113 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 onthe London Stock Exchange. Under the leadership of Chief Executive Mike Slade,the Company has created and sustained one of the largest development andinvestment programmes in the country. The spread of activities across theCompany gives Helical Bar flexibility to deploy capital rapidly across thebusiness and focus on whatever opportunities offer the best returns at differentpoints 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 itsheadquarters at Harworth Park, Harworth, near Doncaster, South Yorkshire. Britain's biggest producer of coal, UK COAL operates four deep mines in theMidlands and Yorkshire, and four surface mines in the North East, the NorthWest, and the Midlands. Over 90% of UK COAL's annual output of almost ninemillion tonnes is sold to generate around 5% of Britain's electricityrequirements. The property division, managed by Harworth Estates, owns around 47,500 acres ofland and other property. With a RICS valuation of £398m, the Company estimatesthe 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 beenidentified for development, creating opportunities for building around 20,000homes and 29 million square feet of employment space over the next six years. The power business, Harworth Power, includes the generation of electricity usingengines to burn methane extracted from collieries for safety reasons, and thedevelopment of wind farms on 10 or more sites, mainly in the North East and theMidlands. For more information, please go to www.ukcoal.com Governetz Limited: Following a long career in the civil service David Werranfounded Governetz in February 2001 as a specialist civil service consultancywith relocation of government as its core activity. Governetz also worksextensively with local, regional and central government organisations in otherparts of the UK and has established a much valued trusted third party status inits dealings. For more information go to www.governetz.com This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock Exchange