Acquisition

Sutton Harbour Holdings PLC 17 April 2000 Sutton Harbour Holdings is delighted to announce that the Company has today concluded an agreement to purchase Plymouth City Airport Ltd. (PCAL), a wholly owned subsidiary of British Airways Plc (BA). The airport site is owned by Plymouth City Council (PCC) and leased to PCAL. The deal includes a management contract for Newquay Cornwall Airport. The Company has agreed Heads of Terms with PCC for a new lease for which the Company will pay a one-off lump sum. The direct acquisition cost, including the cost of the lease premium, amounts to £2.6m and this sum has been raised by the issue of 2,166,667 new shares at 120p each. The new shares will not entitle holders to the final dividend for the year 31 March 2000, but will rank alongside existing shares in every other respect. These new shares have been issued to new shareholders to the Company and, as a result, the ownership of Sutton Harbour Holdings has been widened and a number of institutional investors have joined the list of shareholders. Application has been made for the new shares to be admitted to the Alternative Investment Market of the London Stock Exchange and it is expected that admission will take place and dealing will commence on the 18th April in respect of 1,666,667 new shares and that admission of the remaining 500,000 new shares will take place and dealing will commence on the 28th April. The present Airport Director, Mr. John Humphrey, will continue to be responsible for the day-to-day operation of the airport and will join the Board of Sutton Harbour Holdings as an Executive Director. Ambitious plans are in hand to upgrade and improve the airport. The estimated costs of £8.3m, which includes associated road and other works, will come from the South West Regional Development Agency and from Plymouth City Council. There are many safeguards in place to ensure that this is a prudent investment. For example, BA has given a three year guarantee that the existing revenue from them of over £1.5m per annum will be maintained. The Company has also successfully secured its position in the event that the airport improvement works do not proceed and in the event that the airport is no longer technically and/or financially viable. The synergy between the two companies is considerable with both deriving their income from rents, fuel, dues and related trading, the only difference being that one is a seaport and the other an airport. The Board is convinced that this acquisition is an exciting development for the Company.