Hargreaves Services pulls out of UK Coal closure plan

11th Jun 2014 14:11

Coal mining group Hargreaves Services has pulled out of a plan to help wind down and close rival UK Coal.Hargreaves had proposed to lend £5m as part of a package of private sector help to shut two deep pits at Kellingley, North Yorkshire, and Thoresby in Nottinghamshire.Harworth Estates, the property arm of Coalfield Resources, which gave up control of UK Coal to a staff benefit trust in December 2012, is also involved. But Hargreaves said on Wednesday that it was unable to support proposals to wind down UK Coal and had withdrawn from the process.Chief Executive Gordon Banham said: "It is with great regret that this announcement is made today. However, we would like to recognise the help and efforts of the government, unions and other stakeholders, including Harworth Estates, in trying to develop a plan we could support."The UK government is giving UK Coal a £10m loan to stop it going insolvent and to help fund the closure in the next 18 months of the pits, which employ about 1,300 people. It means the company can carry out a managed closure of its deep operational mines by autumn 2015 and sell its six surface mines in the Midlands and north-east England. The coal miner entered administration last year after facing rising costs, big pension liabilities and competition from cheap imports. PW