Tower Investment in Australia

Guinness Peat Group PLC
03 December 2004



                            GUINNESS PEAT GROUP plc

                                  ANNOUNCEMENT


Guinness Peat Group plc ("GPG") announces that it has entered into an
underwriting agreement for an issue of shares in Australian Wealth Management
Limited ("AWM") consequent upon a transaction in Australia involving Tower
Limited ("Tower"), a New Zealand company in which GPG has a 19.9% shareholding.
Tower is demerging its wealth management businesses in Australia into AWM, a
newly incorporated company.

As part of the funding arrangements for the purchase of the AWM businesses, AWM
will offer 162.6 million shares to its initial shareholders on the basis of
entitlements to acquire 1.355 new AWM shares for every 1 AWM share held.  GPG
has agreed to underwrite (or procure the underwriting of) at a price of A$0.80
per share any of these AWM shares that are not taken up by the AWM shareholders.

As a consequence of this transaction, GPG will acquire a minimum of 19.9% of
AWM.  If it is required to meet its underwriting obligations in full, GPG would
acquire a further 131.9 million AWM shares for a cash consideration of A$105.5
million (£44 million) and will then hold 186.5 million AWM shares or 66% of the
issued AWM share capital.

AWM has applied for a listing on the Australian Stock Exchange.  On a pro forma
basis for the year ended 30 September 2004, the  AWM businesses had total
operating revenue of A$84.3 million and a profit before tax and goodwill
amortisation of  A$21.9 million

Tower has issued its own Announcement in respect of this transaction.  This can
be found on the New Zealand Stock Exchange website on www.nzx.com.

J R Russell
Company Secretary


3 December 2004


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