Peel Pepper (UK) Limited, the bidder for Harworth Group (LSE:HWG), said it now owns or has acceptances for about 96.84% of Harworth's shares. It will close its unconditional best and final cash offer at 1pm on 10 November 2026 and plans to use compulsory acquisition for the rest.

What was announced

Peel Pepper (UK) Limited ("BidCo"), a company indirectly wholly owned by Peel Holdings Group Limited, published a notice on 26 October 2026 that its offer for Harworth Group PLC (LSE:HWG) will close.

Harworth is the target in this deal, not the bidder. The announcement describes the offer as an unconditional best and final cash offer backed by the Harworth board. It said the offer "will close for acceptances at 1:00 p.m. on 10 November 2026".

The closing notice itself did not repeat the price. BidCo's announcement of 25 September 2026 set the increased best and final offer at 187 pence per Harworth share. That was up from an increased offer of 177.5 pence announced on 16 September. The 25 September announcement said the Harworth directors unanimously back the Best and Final Offer and urge Harworth shareholders to accept it. It valued Harworth's entire issued and to be issued share capital at about £631.7 million.

The numbers

As at 12pm on 26 October, BidCo had received valid acceptances for 30,534,222 Harworth shares, about 9.08% of the issued share capital. This included acceptances for 2,068,059 shares, about 0.62%, from persons acting in concert with BidCo.

BidCo and its concert parties already held 294,893,395 shares, about 87.75%. In total, 325,427,617 shares, about 96.84%, are now owned by BidCo and its concert parties or are subject to acceptances. The percentages are based on 336,045,315 Harworth shares in issue.

The largest holdings were BidCo's own 199,012,045 shares and Goodweather's 95,881,350 shares. Goodweather Holdings Limited is listed as a person acting in concert with BidCo. BidCo said it has no outstanding irrevocable commitments or letters of intent.

On the disclosed figures, about 10.6 million Harworth shares, or roughly 3.2% of the share capital, are neither owned by BidCo's group nor yet assented to the offer. At 187 pence, those shares would be worth roughly £19.9 million.

Background

The original offer document was dated 26 August 2026, and the best and final offer document was published on 29 September 2026. According to the 25 September announcement, the 187 pence price was a 30.2% premium to Harworth's closing price of 143.6 pence on 5 August 2026. BidCo said it would not adjust its best and final offer for the interim dividend of 0.592 pence per share that Harworth announced on 9 September 2026.

BidCo said it has received acceptances for not less than 90% of the Harworth shares to which the offer relates. This allows it to use the squeeze-out rules in Chapter 3 of Part 28 of the Companies Act 2006. It expects to send compulsory acquisition notices under sections 979 and 980 shortly. Six weeks after those notices, the remaining shares are expected to be acquired compulsorily, unless the court orders otherwise.

What happens next

Cancellation of Harworth's listing on the London Stock Exchange's Main Market is expected to take effect on 11 November 2026, subject to exchange requirements. No share transfers will be registered after 6pm that day. Harworth is then intended to be re-registered as a private limited company as soon as practicable.

Shareholders who accept while the offer is open will be paid within 14 calendar days of their acceptance being received. Those whose shares are compulsorily acquired will be paid only once that process ends, which is expected to take at least six weeks. BidCo warned that any remaining shareholders could become minority holders in a private company, may be unable to sell their shares, and have no certainty of future dividends or a comparable future offer.