Acquisition

BP PLC
5 October 2001





October 5, 2001 46/01


                 BP PLANS MOVE TO NEW CORPORATE HEADQUARTERS

BP today announced that it is to acquire the freehold of No 1 St James's
Square, in London's West End, and intends to move its global corporate
headquarters there in the spring of next year.

The acquisition will be made through the purchase of the shares of Ericsson
Property, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Ericsson, the Swedish
telecommunications group which has occupied No 1 as its European regional
centre since the building underwent major refurbishment in 1998.

BP and Ericsson have already signed a heads of agreement on the transaction
which, subject to due diligence, should be completed by the end of the year.
Both companies said the price would remain confidential until completion.
After minor realignment of interior space, BP staff would move in during the
first half of 2002.

For BP the acquisition ends a three-year search for new headquarters to
replace Britannic House in Finsbury Circus, where it has been based since 1991
- a move prompted by major changes in the way the group is run following the
series of mergers, beginning with Amoco, that have tripled its size since
1998.

In particular, BP's organisational structure - combining more than 100
globally dispersed business units with active central oversight of strategy
and performance - requires a growing level of flexible office space for
visiting overseas managers which Britannic House can no longer provide.

As the group's global headquarters, No 1 St James's Square will accommodate
board and executive management, together with the key corporate teams
responsible for shaping and driving group strategy and performance, numbering
in total around 200 people. Up to a third of the building, which is over
100,000 square-feet, will be used to provide conference facilities,
meeting-rooms and flexible office space for visiting executives.

'After a long review of nearly 40 offices for rent or purchase in the London
area, we have found a quality building in a prime location which provides the
level and configuration of space we need,' said Richard Paver, general manager
of property services for BP. 'It also lets us rationalise our office use in
the Moorgate area where we've had to take ad hoc space in scattered locations
in the last few years.'



  More....

BP said it would retain Britannic House as an operational centre for a mix of
corporate and business functions, including finance and tax, but would also
use the freed-up space to accommodate staff from nearby satellite offices in
Ropemaker Street and Old Broad Street.

The company has massively rationalised its property portfolio, both in the
London area and at other major locations around the world, in the wake of the
Amoco and ARCO mergers and other acquisitions, yielding expected cumulative
savings of some $580 million.


Further Information:

Roddy Kennedy, BP Press Office: [phone]



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