MISSING shareholders of an ill-fated North Yorkshire cooperative are still being sought - to give them a windfall before the deadline on Friday.

The Yorkshire and Northern Woolgrowers' Co-operative of Norton collapsed after 63 years in the wake of a worldwide slump in the wool market in 1992.

After changing to limited company status, it entered into a company voluntary agreement to pay all creditors in full.

But only now has the company's land and HQ buildings off Park Road, Norton been sold - and the money has been set aside for nearly 4,500 shareholders

Exactly who was the buyer last April and how much money is available is not being disclosed by David Horner & Co, the York business and recovery specialists, which reveals only that shareholders are likely to get back 70 per cent of their £1 per share stake.

But based on an assessment of 945,000 shares at 70p per share, there should be about £661,000 in the kitty

The average payout would be about £147 per shareholder, although holdings ranged from two shares to as many as 2,000.

Sarah Hudson, a manager of David Horner & Co, reports that ever since her company advertised for shareholders to come forward there have been more than 100 phone calls.

"It's been bedlam," she said. "We sent out letters to every address possible but there is no guarantee that we would receive 'return to sender' in those cases where people had died or moved out of the area. Some may have accidentally binned our plea. We need to track down all who are entitled to this money."

The Yorkshire and Northern Woolgrowers' Co-operative was formed in 1929 as a collecting and sorting agent for locally-produced wool. In its full final year, it reported losses of more than £256,000 and its closure meant the loss of 44 jobs.

Ryedale planners say that no planning application for use of the buildings or land has yet been submitted for the site of the Co-operative's old HQ.

But it is regarded as a key site among six in a new study to see how derelict or under-used acres between the railway and the Derwent could be opened up to housing, commerce, industry or leisure. Many of the sites had potential access and flooding problems, but the £6.5 million flood defence scheme there has suddenly opened up redevelopment opportunities.

The study has been backed to the tune of £25,000 by Yorkshire Forward, the regional development agency.

If you have not received notification from the liquidators about your shareholding in Yorkshire and Northern Woolgrowers' Co-operative. then don't delay. Post your details, including your share certificate number, to David Horner & Co, 2A Pioneer Business Park, Clifton Moor, York, YO30 4TN.

Updated: 09:22 Tuesday, October 07, 2003