Purchase of Own Securities

ABERFORTH SMALLER COMPANIES TRUST PLC
11 August 1999


PURCHASE OF WARRANTS

Aberforth Smaller Companies Trust plc announces that on 11 August 1999 it
purchased for cancellation, at a price of £1.80 each, a further 250,000 of its
Warrants to subscribe for Ordinary Shares of 1p.

The Company has now purchased for cancellation a total of 10,643,611 Warrants
(66.50% of the 16,005,372 total Warrants issued) and this transaction results
in there being 3,431,863 Warrants remaining in issue.

Date of announcement - 11 August 1999

Contact for enquiries:-
Angus McCallum
Aberforth Partners
0131 220 0733