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 year ending 31 December 2018.

Investment activity

· Total investment commitments to date of £267 million, slightly ahead of our guidance for 2018 of approximately £250 million. One further £20 - £30 million investment is possible before the year-end.

o PPP: MBTA Automated Fare Collection System (US): £17.5 million

o PPP: A16 road (Netherlands): £21.7 million

o PPP: I-75 Michigan Road (US): £15.3 million

o RE: Fox Creek / Brantley Solar Farms (US): £30.0 million

o RE: IS54 and IS67 Solar Farms (US): £27.0 million

o RE: Sunraysia Solar Farm (Australia): £59.0 million

o RE: Finley Solar Farm (Australia): £41.0 million

o RE: Granville Wind Farm (Australia): £55.8 million

· Strong pipeline of future opportunities as described in June 2018 interim results

(RE = renewable energy)

Realisations

· Total realisations agreed in 2018 to date of £296.0 million (before costs), of which £241.5 million completed, in line with our guidance for 2018 of approximately £250 million

· Realisations agreed in 2018 to date (see Appendix I):

o Sale of remaining 15% shareholding in Intercity Express Programme (IEP) (Phase 1) for consideration of £232.0 million. Completed in May 2018.

o Sale of 50% shareholding in Lambeth Social Housing project for consideration of £9.5 million. Completed in May 2018.

o Sale of 37.43% shareholding in Manchester Waste TPS Co for consideration of £54.5 million. Expected to complete in Q1 2019 following customary EU anti-trust clearance. Once completed, this transaction will further reduce our UK exposure.

· Other realisation processes underway, but not expected to reach completion before year end

Investment portfolio

Other than the sale of our shareholding in IEP Phase 1 in excess of its valuation, our investment portfolio performance in 2018 to date has been in line with expectations.

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) (valuation > £225m at 30 June 2018)

· The first trains for the East Coast mainline, which have a similar design to IEP (Phase 1), are now scheduled to be accepted into service in Q1 2019.

Denver Eagle P3 (valuation £75m - £100m at 30 June 2018)

· Both the A line and the B line have been operating successfully since 2016 and have achieved above 97% on-time performance. Final certification of the overall project is subject to approvals from both state and federal transport regulators for the third line, the G line. Delays associated with the legal and regulatory regime have led to certain claims by the project company and these are currently the subject of discussion or dispute between the parties involved, including the public sector client. Commencement of full service revenue is subject to the final certification.

Sydney Light Rail (valuation £50m - £75m at 30 June 2018)

· As stated in our June 2018 results announcement, the programme is running behind schedule (c15 months), though 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 continue to be the subject of negotiations between the contractor and the public sector client, facilitated by the project company.

Pension fund

· As at 30 November 2018, the combined IAS19 pension surplus for the John Laing Pension Schemes was estimated at £6 million based on an IAS 19 discount rate of 3.05% and long term RPI of 3.3%. This compares to a surplus at 30 June 2018 of £24.0 million based on an IAS 19 discount rate of 2.75% and long term RPI of 3.0%. The change is primarily due to a decrease in the valuation of John Laing Pension Fund's equity investments as well as an increase in inflation expectations, offset by the increase in the IAS 19 discount rate.

· We expect the IAS19 position at 31 December 2018 in the full year results to reflect a preliminary estimate of the impact on liabilities from GMP equalisation, as well as any changes in other assumptions, including mortality.

Outlook

· Net asset value at 31 December 2018 is projected to be in the range of management expectations, assuming constant exchange rates and no change in the IAS19 pension surplus at 30 November 2018.

· We expect the special dividend for 2018 to be based on realisations completed to date of £241.5 million. In arriving at the appropriate percentage within the 5% - 10% pay-out rate, the Board plans to consider all relevant factors, including funding needs for new investments.

· The pipeline of new investment opportunities remains strong in both PPP and renewable energy, especially in the US and Australia and may soon include opportunities from certain countries in Latin America.

· We are currently part of 10 shortlisted PPP bids due to reach financial close in the next eighteen months, of which seven are in North America and three in Europe.

· 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, we have continued to take advantage of our strong pipeline of opportunities and we have exceeded our investment guidance for 2018. As we look forward to 2019, we are confident in our ability to manage our existing projects actively and generate more value from them, as well as spread our activity across different geographies and sectors, which reduces our exposure to local policy uncertainties. We continue to see an attractive pipeline both in existing and new sectors."

The Group's results for the year ending 31 December 2018 will be announced on 5 March 2019.

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 31 December 2017, 30 June 2018 and 30 November 2018