Bunzl Celebrates 50 Years

Bunzl PLC
27 June 2007


                                                                    27 June 2007


                 BUNZL CELEBRATES 50 YEARS AS A PUBLIC COMPANY


Listed on the London Stock Exchange in June 1957, Bunzl today celebrates its
50th anniversary as a publicly traded company. To mark the occasion Bunzl's
Chairman, Anthony Habgood, today opened trading on the London Stock Exchange.

Brief history

From its origins in the mid-19th century as a haberdashery business in
Bratislava, Bunzl has developed considerably to where it stands today as a
leading international distribution and outsourcing Group operating in 21
countries spanning North America, Europe and Australasia and employing a
workforce of over 12,000.

Successful refocusing on higher return areas

In the 50 years since listing in London as a public company, Bunzl has been
transformed from a paper company to a diversified manufacturing and distribution
business and more recently to a focused, specialist distribution and outsourcing
business.

This repositioning has been accelerated in the last five years with the sale of
the UK fine paper distribution business in 2002 and the successful and
significant demerger of Filtrona which became a separately listed FTSE250
company in 2005 and marked a complete exit from Bunzl's manufacturing
activities.

Since listing in 1957, annual revenue has increased from about £7 million to
£3.3 billion in 2006 and over the same period profit before tax has risen from
about £1 million to over £200 million. £1,000 invested in Bunzl in 1957 would be
worth about £230,000 today.

Bunzl today

Bunzl now provides a 'one-stop-shop' distribution and outsourcing service
providing a broad range of internationally sourced products which are essential
for its customers to operate their businesses including grocery store supplies,
foodservice packaging, catering equipment, cleaning and hygiene products,
personal protection equipment and disposable healthcare products.

Customers are keen to reduce storage space taken up by a wide variety of
products which they require but do not actually sell. By outsourcing the
purchasing, consolidation and distribution of a broad range of everyday items,
Bunzl's customers are able to focus on their core businesses, achieve
substantial purchasing efficiencies and savings, free up working capital,
improve distribution efficiencies and simplify their internal administration.

Bunzl today has a strong independent Board which has overseen the implementation
of a consistent strategy of focusing on its strengths and consolidating the
markets in which it competes, thereby building leading positions in a number of
business sectors. Bunzl's growth strategy combines organic development with
acquisitions that extend both geographical reach and the product lines it can
serve. The Board is confident that Bunzl's strong market position and growth
potential will allow the Group to continue to increase shareholder value.

Anthony Habgood, Chairman of Bunzl, said:

'I am delighted to have opened the London Stock Exchange together with our
former Chairman Ernest Beaumont who was a director at the time of the original
listing. Today marks a significant achievement in the history of Bunzl. Over the
past 50 years the Group has grown rapidly and developed its business model to be
fully focused on higher return, international distribution and outsourcing
businesses.

During its time as a public company, Bunzl has benefited from its ability to
anticipate and respond rapidly to a constantly changing economic and business
climate. As a result of this, shareholders in Bunzl have benefited with £1,000
invested in Bunzl in 1957 worth about £230,000 today, considerably more than the
same amount invested in the all-share index.'


                      This information is provided by RNS
            The company news service from the London Stock Exchange