Acquisition of Mabey Construction Co Ltd

Gleeson(M J)Group PLC
28 January 2000

M J GLEESON GROUP ('GLEESON') ACQUISITION OF MABEY CONSTRUCTION CO.LIMITED
('MABEY CONSTRUCTION')

£6.3m acquisition of specialist rail contractor and service provider.

Gleeson, the construction, house building and property development Group,
today announces the acquisition of Mabey Construction from Mabey Holdings
Limited, in a move which extends Gleeson's specialist contracting expertise in
the railway industry, where substantially increased capital spending is
planned for at least the next decade.

The total consideration of £6,258,000 will be funded from existing resources,
payable on completion which took place on 27th January 2000.

Mabey Construction, which employs approximately 100 staff and operatives, is a
highley regarded specialist contractor and service provider working
extensively with London Underground and Railtrack.  Recent orders secured by
the Company include two 3 year term maintenance contracts for London
Underground with an anticipated total value in excess of £25m.

In the year ended 30th September 1999 pre-tax profits of £1.33m (1997/98
£1.5m) were earned on turnover of £22m (1997/98 £17.16m).  As at 30th
September 1999 Net Assets totalled £824,000.

Mabey Construction will maintain its separate identity, while operating within
the framework of the Group's Engineering Division.  the Engineering Division
operates throughout the UK and specialises in infrastructure and process
engineering projects, particularly for the Water Industry in which its current
workload mainly comprises strategic partnering/alliancing and PFI projects.

Dermot Gleeson, Gleeson Group Chairman commented:

'We are delighted to bring Mabey Construction into the Gleeson Group.  Its
specialist railway construction facilities management and partnering skills
will be of great assistance in achieving our strategic objective of
establishing a presence in the rail sector comparable to our leading position
in the water industry.'

Further information:    Dermot Gleeson, Chairman
                        Colin McLellan, Finance Director

                        Telephone No. 020 8644 4321

27th January 2000
WestLB Panmure Limited