Holding in Company

British Assets Trust PLC
20 October 2000

                  DEALINGS BY SUBSTANTIAL SHAREHOLDERS


1)   NAME OF COMPANY

BRITISH ASSETS TRUST PLC

2)   NAME OF SHAREHOLDER HAVING A MAJOR INTEREST

SCUDDER THREADNEEDLE INVESTMENTS

3)   Please state whether notification indicates that it is in respect of 
     holding of the Shareholder named in 2 above or in respect of a 
     non-beneficial interest or in the case of an individual holder if it is a
     holding of that person's spouse or children under the age of 18



4)   Name of the registered holder(s) and, if more than one holder, the 
     number of shares held by each of them.



5)   Number of shares/amount of stock acquired.



6)   ( N/A %) of issued Class

7)   Number of shares/amount of stock disposed



8)   ( N/A %) of issued Class

9)   Class of security

GROWTH SHARES

10)  Date of transaction



11)  Date company informed

19/10/00

12)  Total holding following this notification

1,981,518
               
              
13)  Total percentage holding of issued class following this notification

3.72%

14)  Any additional information

PLEASE SEE LETTER BELOW 

15)  Name of contact and telephone number for queries

DEREK OSBORNE
0131 465 1000

16)  Name and signature of authorised company official responsible for 
     making this notification

     Date of Notification 20 OCTOBER 2000.........


LETTER TO: BRITISH ASSETS TRUST PLC 
DATE: 17 OCTOBER 2000

SECTION 198 COMPANIES ACT 1985

We refer to the letter dated 19 April 2000, disclosing a Notifiable Interest of
the Zurich Financial Services Group and Zurich Allied AG, both of Switzerland,
and Allied Zurich p.l.c., in the shares of your Company.

In accordance with the provisions of the above Section, we would inform you of a
change to the notifiable interest over shares in your company.  Zurich Allied AG
has ceased to have a disclosable interest whilst a disclosable interest has been
acquired by our new sole ultimate holding company Zurich Financial Services,
incorporated and quoted in Switzerland.

The Swiss incorporated company referred to in previous communications to you as
Zurich Financial Services has been renamed Zurich Group Holding.

These changes all result from a simplification of the corporate structure of the
Group's ultimate holding companies.  As such, there have not been any
transactions in your shares that would otherwise have required a notification. 
The current notifiable interest amounts to 1,981,518 growth 25p shares.  Further
details of this holding are available on request.

LETTER FROM: SCUDDER THREADNEEDLE INVESTMENTS LIMITED