Pre-Close Update

JOHN LAING GROUP plc

PRE-CLOSE UPDATE

John Laing Group plc ("John Laing" or "the Group"), the international originator, active investor and manager of infrastructure projects, today issues a pre-close update for the six months ending 30 June 2018.

Investment activity

· Investment commitments weighted towards the second half and full year guidance for 2018 maintained at approximately £250 million

· Strong pipeline of future opportunities as described in March 2018 rights issue

· Following record investment commitments in 2017, bidding activity was lower in the early part of 2018 but is now very active in each of our core markets: Europe, North America and Asia Pacific

· Currently part of:

o One preferred bidder PPP position in Europe with a potential investment opportunity of approximately £7 million

o 12 shortlisted PPP bids due to reach financial close in the next two years, of which 10 are in North America and two in Europe, representing a total potential investment opportunity of approximately £360 million

o Seven exclusive renewable energy positions, representing a total potential investment opportunity of approximately £240 million

· Total investment commitments of £40 million in 2018 to date (see Appendix I):

o PPP: MBTA Automated Fare Collection System (US): £18 million

o PPP: A16 road (Netherlands): £22 million

Realisations

· Sale of remaining 15% shareholding in Intercity Express Programme (IEP) (Phase 1) completed for consideration of £232 million (£228.4 million after costs). As already stated, this was in excess of the valuation at 31 December 2017

· Sale of 50% shareholding in Lambeth Social Housing project, announced in late 2017, now completed with proceeds of £9.5 million

· With further sale processes currently underway, full year guidance for 2018 maintained at approximately £250 million

Investment portfolio

We are pleased with the performance of our investment portfolio in 2018 to date.

Our asset management team actively monitors and manages each project we invest in. A number of these projects are large, sophisticated infrastructure assets, and therefore delays and other issues do occur. In all instances, a judgement as to potential outcomes is taken into account when John Laing's portfolio valuation is prepared. 

IEP (Phase 2)

· The first trains for the East Coast mainline, which have the same design as IEP (Phase 1), are scheduled to be accepted into service in Q4 2018

Denver Eagle P3

· The project company has made good progress in H1 2018 to obtain the necessary approvals for the level crossings on the "A" and "G" lines. Subject to final certification, full revenue service is expected to be achieved in Q3 2018

Optus Stadium, Perth

· The stadium has performed well during a number of high capacity, high profile events in H1 2018, with over 500,000 spectators to date. The project was announced winner of the 2018 Australian Construction Achievement Award.

Sydney Light Rail

· As stated in our 2017 results announcement the programme is approximately 12 months behind schedule, but remains within the overall long-stop date. Part of the delay is attributable to the presence of below ground utility equipment not identified before construction commenced. This has led to various claims by the principal contractor, which are currently the subject of negotiations between the contractor and the public sector client, facilitated by the project company.

New Royal Adelaide Hospital

· As stated in our 2017 results announcement, the project company continues to monitor the performance of the facilities management services provider. While this performance has been improving, the project company and the South Australian government are currently in discussions about the application of the abatement regime resulting from service under-performance.

Pension fund

· The deficit as calculated in accordance with IAS 19 at 31 December 2017 of £35.2 million was estimated to have moved to a surplus of £19.8 million at 31 May 2018. This was due principally to a scheduled cash contribution of £26.5 million in March 2018 together with a small increase in the discount rate used to value the liabilities.

Outlook

· The pipeline of new investment opportunities remains strong in both PPP and renewable energy in each of our three core markets

· Current guidance of approximately £250m for investment commitments in 2018 maintained

· As previously stated, we continue to assess (i) other infrastructure asset classes that might fit our business model (ii) new geographies where we see potential opportunities to invest alongside established partners at appropriate returns

· The market for secondary assets remains strong

Olivier Brousse, John Laing's Chief Executive Officer, said:

"Following our rights issue in March and the sale of our interest in IEP (Phase 1), we have the financial flexibility to take advantage of our strong pipeline of opportunities. Our focus is to continue to grow in a managed way by ensuring we select the projects with the best risk-adjusted returns and that we work with the best partners. John Laing is steadily becoming renowned internationally for active independent greenfield infrastructure investment, and is well positioned for further growth."

The Group's results for the six months ending 30 June 2018 will be announced on 23 August 2018.

A call for analysts and investors will be held at 8.00am (London time) today.

Conference call details:

Further information

Analyst/investor enquiries:

Media enquiries:

www.laing.com

Appendix I: details of investment commitments and realisations

JLIF = John Laing Infrastructure Fund

Appendix II: exchange rates at 30 June 2017, 31 December 2017 and 31 May 2018