Hancock Timber Resource Group Closes Large Timberland Purchase in Washington State

BOSTON, December 23, 2002 -Hancock Timber Resource Group (HTRG) today announced it has closed its acquisition of more than 120,000 acres of timberlands in western Washington for approximately $220 million. A purchase and sale agreement was executed on October 22, 2002.

The land was purchased on behalf of HTRG investors including both US and non-US tax-exempt pensions, taxable corporations and high net worth investors. The property is located in the central and south-central Cascade Mountains. The predominant tree species are Douglas-fir and western hemlock. The property will be managed primarily for sawtimber production by Hancock Forest Management, Inc., HTRG's property management affiliate.

HTRG is the world's largest timberland investment management organization for institutional investors with 2.9 million acres and more than $2.5 billion in assets under management in North America and Australia as of September 30, 2002. Boston-based HTRG is a division of Hancock Natural Resource Group, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of John Hancock Financial Services (NYSE: JHF). John Hancock Financial Services, Inc. is a leading financial services company, providing a broad array of insurance and investment products and services to retail and institutional customers. As of September 30, 2002, John Hancock and its subsidiaries had total assess under management of $121.2 billion.