Disposal

Associated British Foods PLC
30 October 2000



30th October 2000

                         ABF Sells Burton's Biscuits

Associated British Foods, the international food, ingredients and retail
group, announced today (30th October) that it has sold its UK biscuit and
sugar confectionery operation, Burton's Biscuits, to Hicks, Muse, Tate and
Furst, the private equity group for £130 million debt free. Burtons has
factories in Blackpool, Edinburgh and Llantarnam and in the financial year to
18th September 1999 had sales of £171.7 million.

The UK biscuit market has recently seen significant structural change with a
number of corporate transactions. Although the market leader in children's
biscuits and strong in own label biscuits, Burton's lacks the scale on its own
to successfully develop its market position in the longer term.

Commenting on the sale, Peter Jackson, ABF Chief Executive said, 'Our strategy
is to develop the businesses in our portfolio which present the best
opportunities for sustainable growth and cash generation. With the
consolidation taking place in the biscuit market we believe that the best
interests of Burton's will be served by this sale to Hicks Muse'

ABF has also announced today that it has sold Rowallan Creameries, its
Kilmarnock based commodity industrial margarine and bakery fats business, to
Hull based Anglia Oils. Anglia Oils is a subsidiary of Aarhus Olie, a Danish
based multi-national oils and fats business, which has not previously
participated in the bakery fats sector but has been a major supplier to
Rowallan historically. In the financial year to 18 September 1999 Rowallan had
sales of £28 million and net assets of £10 million.

Notes to Editors

Associated British Foods (ABF) is an international food, ingredients and
retail group with annual sales of over £4.3 billion and 34,000 employees.

The group is one of Europe's largest food companies, and has significant
businesses in Australia, New Zealand, China, and the United States.

For more information, please call:
Geoff Lancaster - Head of External Affairs

Tel: [phone]

Andrew Cornelius - Citigate Dewe Rogerson

Tel: [phone]