The Following is a Statement From Paul Bell, Major Shareholder of Heywood Williams PLC

Paul Bell, a 27% shareholder in Heywood Williams Group PLC (“Heywood Williams” or the “Company”), today announces that he has voted against the resolutions necessary to effect the restructuring of the Company proposed by the current Board on 1 October.

Speaking today, Mr Bell explained the reasons behind his opposition to the deal:

“The deal we are being asked to accept is outrageous – the management team responsible for the mess the Company is now in are delivering absolute control into the hands of the banks - and being rewarded with a 10% stake in the business and the right to keep their overpaid jobs.”

“In the meantime, existing shareholders get a massively diluted stake in an unquoted company that will remain hamstrung by huge bank debts.”

“I would rather kiss my shareholding goodbye than see this deal go through. I believe that a better deal can be done for shareholders, employees and the banks – but it isn’t this one led by this Board.”

“I offered to help refinance the Company months ago, but the Board apparently failed to find any other investors to support them. Since the current deal was announced, I have offered to pull together a revised deal that is fairer to shareholders. The situation at present leaves me no option but to vote the deal down – as I will do, unless a better deal for shareholders can be created by engaging in a sensible dialogue.”

Notes for Editors:

On 1 October 2009, Heywood Williams announced a restructuring of the Company. The proposed restructuring involved:

The Company’s banking syndicate converting £21m of existing debt into an 80% shareholding in the Company;
Management receiving a 10% shareholding in the Company;
Existing shareholders being diluted down to 10% of the Company’s equity;
Delisting the Company, leaving the existing shareholders with a minority equity stake in a private Company controlled by the banks;
No further equity injection at all, but a further £6m of bank facilities.

The Company’s existing Board currently collectively own only 0.2% of the Company’s shares.

Heywood Williams’ current Board has witnessed a drop in value for shareholders - within the past three years the Company had a peak share price of 112p per share (February 2007), whereas the share price now is approximately 1.5p, representing a near 99% decrease in value.

Heywood Williams has an equity value today of approximately £1.3 million. The Company has expended over £53m of cash on acquisitions since September 2006.

Paul Bell recently participated in the successful refinancing and bank restructuring of Styles & Wood Group PLC, in which he invested an additional £5 million of new equity money into the business.