HEYWOOD WILLIAMS

20 October 2009 

Heywood Williams Group PLC

Appointment of joint administrators, cancellation of listing and sale of all the activities of Heywood Williams Group PLC to a newly incorporated company

The Company announced earlier today that it had made an application to the Court for it to appoint administrators over the Company and its shares were subsequently suspended of listing from the Official List by the Financial Services Authority.

The Court has appointed today as joint administrators of the Company, pursuant to paragraph 10 of Schedule B1 to the Insolvency Act 1986, Daniel Francis Butters, William Kenneth Dawson and Neville Barry Kahn, all of Deloitte LLP (the "Joint Administrators").  

The Company, acting by the Joint Administrators, has entered into a sale and purchase agreement to sell all the Company's direct subsidiaries to a newly incorporated company, Arran Isle Limited.  On completion, Arran Isle Limited will be the new owner of all the operating subsidiaries of Heywood Williams Group PLC, which with immediate effect continue to trade and continue to maintain their existing relationships with customers, suppliers and employees.  None of those operating subsidiaries have been placed into administration or any other liquidation process. 

Upon completion of the sale, the UK banking syndicate (comprising Lloyds TSB Bank plc, Bank of Scotland plc and National Australia Bank Limited) and Mike McTighe will be interested in 80 per cent. of Arran Isle Limited, an employee benefit trust will be interested in 10 per cent. and the executive members of the Board and certain other members of the senior management team will also be interested in 10 per cent.  Completion is expected to be effected within 28 days.

A request has been made to the UK Listing Authority that the listing of the Company's ordinary shares on the Official List of the UK Listing Authority and the admission of its ordinary shares to trading on the main market for listed securities of the London Stock Exchange be cancelled.  These cancellations are expected to take effect at 8.00am on Wednesday 21 October 2009.