HARWORTH GROUP PLC

Report Publication Announcement • Sep 6, 2011

UK Coal PLC Harworth Park Blyth Road Harworth Doncaster South Yorkshire DN11 8DB www.ukcoal.com

6 September 2011

Dear Shareholder

Request to send or supply documents and information via a website

This document is important and requires your immediate attention. If you are in any doubt as to what action you should take, you are recommended to seek your own financial advice from your stockbroker or other independent adviser authorised under the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000.

Under the provisions of the Companies Act 2006 (the Act), UK Coal PLC (the Company) is seeking to send and supply documents or information generally (such as annual accounts and reports, notices of general meetings and forms of proxy) which the Company is required to send to shareholders (Shareholder Information) via a website, rather than by post or other approved means.

The Company's articles of association allow the supply of Shareholder Information by publication on the Company's website (the Website). However, under the Act, the Company is required to ask shareholders to give their individual consent to the Company before it can supply Shareholder Information in this manner.

Your consent will help the Company to reduce the costs and the impact on the environment of the unnecessary printing and posting of Shareholder Information, whilst still providing you with electronic access to the latest Shareholder Information.

This letter is a request for your individual consent to receive Shareholder Information by means of the Website. Please note that if we do not receive a response from you within 28 days of the date of this request, namely by 4 October 2011, you will be deemed to have agreed that the Company may supply Shareholder Information to you via the Website.

If you agree to the Company sending or supplying documents or information to you via the Website, you do not need to take any further action.

Continued overleaf

Please detach your form carefully along the perforated line

Shareholder Reference 0977 / +

The options you can choose from are listed below.

Option 1

If you would like to receive shareholder documentation by means of a website and receive hard copy notification of the publication of any documents on the website, you need take no further action.

Option 2

If you would like to receive shareholder documentation by means of a website and receive e-mail notification of the publication of any documents on the website, please register on-line at www.shareview.co.uk.

Option 3

To continue to receive shareholder documentation in the traditional paper form, please tick this box and return this slip in the envelope provided.

+

0977-004-S

Shareholder letter continued

We will notify you when new Shareholder Information is available on the Website. This notification will include the address of the Website, the place on the Website where the Shareholder Information may be accessed and details of how to access the Shareholder Information. We will provide this notification to you by post sent to your registered address or, if you would prefer, by email alert. In the latter case, please register your email address at the website of our Registrar, Equiniti Limited, www.shareview.co.uk.

If you would like to continue to receive Shareholder Information by post rather than via the Website, you should complete the attached reply slip and return it to reach our Registrar by 4 October 2011.

Should you wish in future to change your choice of how you receive Shareholder Information, you may do so at any time by writing to our Registrar. In addition, you may request any Website-published Shareholder Information in hard copy form at any time from the Company Secretary who will send a copy to you free of charge within 21 days of receiving your request.

Yours faithfully

Richard Cole Company Secretary

UK Coal PLC Registered in England & Wales Company number 02649340

Notes:

• 1. The election to receive Shareholder Information electronically will continue to have effect until such time as the Company receives alternative instructions from you. It is your responsibility to notify the Company promptly of any change to your name, address, email address or other contact details.
• 1. The Company reserves the right to send or supply Shareholder Information to you in hard copy form rather than by the Website.
• 1. The Company takes all reasonable precautions to ensure no viruses are present in any electronic communication it sends out, but it cannot accept responsibility for loss or damage arising from the opening or use of any email or attachments from the Company. The Company recommends that all electronic communications received by shareholders are subjected to virus checking procedures prior to use.
• 1. Except as expressly provided above, members who wish to communicate with the Company in relation to this letter should do by writing to the Registrar, Equiniti Limited, Aspect House, Spencer Road, Lancing, West Sussex BN99 6DA. No other methods of communication will be accepted. In particular, you may not use any electronic address provided in this letter to communicate with the Company for any purposes other than those expressly stated.

Please detach your form carefully along the perforated line

Online Communications: Additional information

The Company's Reports & Accounts and AGM documents will be available for viewing approximately one month before the scheduled Annual General Meeting each year.

Guidance Notes

If we are required to restrict the sending of any documents or information to any shareholder due to local laws of the jurisdiction in which you are resident or located, and, as a result, we are not permitted to use electronic means to communicate with shareholders, we will send you hard copies of the documents or information.

Please note that if you do not return this form to reach our Registrar by 4 October 2011 then shareholder documents or information will not be sent directly to you, but instead will be available for you to review following their publication on the Company's website www.ukcoal.com.

You can change your instructions at any time by writing to Equiniti Limited, Aspect House, Spencer Road, Lancing, West Sussex BN99 6DA.

You can request a paper copy of any document at any time by writing to the Company Secretary. It will be sent to you within 21 days and free of charge.