Purchase of Own Securities

BRITISH ASSETS TRUST PLC
3 August 1999


British Assets Trust PLC

The Board of British Assets Trust announce that on 3 August, the Company
purchased 200,000 units of £0.10 nominal each of Equities Index Unsecured Loan
Stock 2005 (EIULS) for cancellation, at a price of 292.00 pence per unit.  The
Company has now bought in for cancellation a total of 129,755,451 units
representing 92.09 per cent of the original units of EIULS issued.  The
Company now has 11,139,892 units of EIULS in issue.

Gordon J Humphries, Secretary, British Assets Trust PLC

Enquiries  :               Gordon Humphries,   tel: [phone]