Yorkshire advisers support £150m reverse takeover deal
THE reverse takeover of property group Harworth Estates by Coalfield Resources was supported by financial and legal advisers from the region.
The deal, which was announced last month and completed yesterday, saw Coalfield acquire 75.1% of the shares in Harworth Estates from the Pension Protection Fund to add to its existing shareholding as it became the sole shareholder.
Coalfield will pay £97m, which will be funded by a share placing that will also provide additional working capital. It will also change its name to Harworth Group.
Jonson Cox, chairman of Coalfield, said: “We are delighted to announce this transaction with the Pension Protection Fund. It re-establishes under single ownership the property business of Harworth Estates and we welcome the PPF as a 25% investor. It will complete the transformation of the company to a specialist brownfield property company.”
The Eversheds team, which advised Coalfield, was led by partner Amanda Partland, assisted by principal associate Sarah Turner, senior associate Jonathan Pollard and associate Maxine Burton.
Andy Ward, PwC’s senior partner in Sheffield, was the reporting accountant, and his colleague Nigel Ward, transaction services partner in Leeds, provided financial due diligence.
Harworth Estates is one of the largest property and regeneration businesses across the East Midlands, Yorkshire and the North of England, owning and managing a diversified portfolio of approximately 27,000 acres across some 200 sites valued at nearly £300m.
