Circ re European Equity Fund Management Team

Not for release, publication, transmission or distribution directly or indirectly in or into the United States, Canada, Australia, Japan, New Zealand, the Republic of South Africa or the Republic of Ireland. 16 June 2006 Stock Exchange Announcement LIONTRUST ASSET MANAGEMENT PLC European Equity Fund Management Team On 1 February 2006, Liontrust Asset Management PLC ("Liontrust") announced that two experienced European equity fund managers, Gary West and James Inglis-Jones, would be joining Liontrust, which they did on 1 March 2006. Since that date, they have been jointly developing a European equity investment process which, together with the arrangements described below, will enable Liontrust to launch a number of collective investment vehicles including long/ short investment funds and long-only unit trusts and offshore funds based on the new European equity documented process. It will also be offered to the institutional market via segregated accounts and pooled pension funds. Consistent with its ambitions for the strategic development of the business, Liontrust is focused on seeking to provide an appropriate level of equity incentivisation for its employees. Accordingly, Liontrust has today entered into a conditional agreement to implement the proposals described in the announcement made on 1 February 2006 relating to a proposed investment in a new group company, Liontrust European Investment Services Limited ("LEIS"). LEIS is to provide European equity fund management services to support the new investment process. The principal terms of the proposals provide for the acquisition by Liontrust of a 51 per cent. equity interest in LEIS, with the balance to be acquired by Gary West, James Inglis-Jones, Jeremy Lang and William Pattisson. The investments by Jeremy Lang and William Pattisson reflect the roles that they will have in developing the European equity business. Liontrust will also provide further funding to LEIS, both for regulatory and working capital purposes, (resulting in its total investment in LEIS totalling £1.35 million (£ 0.15m for ordinary shares in LEIS and £1.2m for cumulative redeemable preference shares in LEIS)). Liontrust will be granted an option to buy out the minority shareholders in LEIS after five years (or in certain circumstances sooner) on a valuation that is at a 25 per cent. discount to Liontrust's revenue multiple at the time of the buy-out. The minority shareholders will also be granted an option to require Liontrust to buy out their shares in LEIS after five years (or in certain circumstances sooner) based on the same valuation formula. The consideration payable under the option (and certain of the leaver provisions comprised in the proposals) is to be satisfied through the issue of new Liontrust shares, or a mixture of new Liontrust shares and cash, or cash only. The maximum consideration payable under the option (and certain of the leaver provisions) granted to Liontrust has been capped such that any payment would not exceed 25 per cent. of the share price of Liontrust at the relevant date multiplied by the issued share capital of Liontrust at the time of grant less the amount Liontrust paid for its investment in LEIS. Any Liontrust shares issued as consideration will be subject to appropriate lock-up arrangements. For further information please contact: Liontrust Asset Management PLC: Nigel Legge or Vinay Abrol Tel: 020-7412 1700 JPMorgan Cazenove Limited: Richard Locke Tel: 020-7155 4706 Notes Gary West and James Inglis-Jones previously held senior positions at JPMorgan Fleming in the European investment division of which Gary was co-head until his departure. More recently, Gary and James worked at Polar Capital where they established a European Market Neutral product. Gary West has been managing funds since 1988. In 1999, after four years at Fleming Investment Management (where he worked alongside Liontrust's Joint Investment Director, William Pattisson), he was promoted to joint head of the European equity department. James Inglis-Jones was a senior portfolio manager within JPMorgan Fleming European equity group with responsibility for a wide range of institutional and retail portfolios. Gary West and James Inglis-Jones joined Liontrust on 1 March 2006. LEIS is a new group company, which will provide European equity fund management services in relation to the investment process developed by Gary West and James Inglis-Jones. As at the date of this announcement, LEIS has not traded and its gross assets and profits were nil. The first accounts of LEIS will be for the period to 31 March 2007. Further information is contained in a circular sent to shareholders today. Copies of the circular have been submitted to the UK Listing Authority and are available for inspection at the Document Viewing Facility, which is situated at: The Financial Services Authority 25 The North Colonnade Canary Wharf London E14 5HS Tel : 020 7676 1000 JPMorgan Cazenove Limited, which is authorised and regulated in the United Kingdom by the Financial Services Authority, is acting as financial adviser to Liontrust in relation to matters described in this announcement and is not acting for any other person and will not be responsible to any other person for providing the protections afforded to customers of JPMorgan Cazenove Limited nor for advising them on the contents of this announcement. The release, publication, transmission or distribution of this announcement in jurisdictions other than the United Kingdom may be restricted by law and therefore persons in such jurisdictions into which this announcement is released, published, transmitted or distributed should inform themselves about and observe such restrictions. Any failure to comply with the restrictions may constitute a violation of the securities laws of any such jurisdiction. ENDS 1
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