Statement re Bolton Fell (2246F)

TIDMSNCL

RNS Number : 2246F

Sinclair (William) Holdings PLC

20 April 2011

William Sinclair Holdings PLC

('William Sinclair' or 'the Company')

William Sinclair announced on 23 March 2010 that it had reached an interim agreement with Natural England regarding the Company's cessation of its peat bog operations at Bolton Fell Moss in Cumbria by November 2013. As part of the interim agreement William Sinclair received an advance initial compensation payment of GBP9 million and fixed a timetable to work with Natural England to assess the level of full compensation payable.

William Sinclair has now been informed that Natural England is unable to respond to the Company's compensation claim by the agreed date of 30 April 2011. Natural England has apologised for the delay and has requested a further six weeks to finalise its response and to provide a fully reasoned counter offer.

In the event that compensation cannot be agreed between the parties before 30 November 2011 the agreement allowed either side to refer the matter to the Lands Tribunal. Natural England has agreed to defer its right to refer the matter by six weeks.

The Board of William Sinclair believes that this delay will have no practical impact on the overall settlement date or compensation figure.

For further information:

www.william-sinclair.co.uk

William Sinclair Holdings Plc Tel: 01522 537561

Bernard Burns, Chief Executive

Peter Williams, Finance Director

Arbuthnot Securities Tel: 020 7012 2000

Andrew Kitchingman

Ben Wells

This information is provided by RNS

The company news service from the London Stock Exchange

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