Holding(s) in Company

Merrill Lynch Br. SmallerCo Tst PLC
05 April 2006


                                  SCHEDULE 10

                   NOTIFICATION OF MAJOR INTERESTS IN SHARES

1) Name of company:

Merrill Lynch British Smaller Companies Trust plc

2) Name of shareholder having a major interest:

Asset Value Investors Limited

3) Please state whether notification indicates that it is in respect of
holding of the shareholder named in 2 above or in respect of a
non-beneficial interest or in the case of an individual holder if it is a
holding of that person's spouse or children under the age of 18:

Non-Beneficial

4) Name of the registered holder(s) and, if more than one holder, the
number of shares held by each of them:

BoNY Nominees:            672,929 shares - Beneficial Holder:  AVI Value Fund LLC
Nortrust Nominees:        599,594 shares - Beneficial Holder:  Yale University
Chase Nominees:         1,553,800 shares - Beneficial Holder:  British Empire Securities
Chase Nominees:           106,314 shares - Beneficial Holder:  Rockefeller University
BoNY Nominees:            276,116 shares - Beneficial Holder:  CF AVI Global Fund
State Street Nominees:     99,410 shares - Beneficial Holder:  Carnegie Corporation
Pictet Nominees:          129,004 shares - Beneficial Holder:  Lord North Street
Mellon Nominees:          185,889 shares - Beneficial Holder:  Columbia
University

5) Number of shares/amount of stock acquired:

100,000 shares

6) Percentage of issued class:

0.19%

7) Number of shares/amount of stock disposed since last notification:

N/A

8) Percentage of issued class:

N/A

9) Class of security:

Ordinary shares of 25p each

10) Date of transaction:

27 March 2006

11) Date company informed:

5 April 2006

12) Total holding following this notification:

3,623,056

13) Total percentage holding of issued class following this notification:

7.16%

14) Any additional information:

N/A

15) Name of contact and telephone number for queries:

Ms C Driscoll- 020 7743 2427

16) Name and signature of authorised company official responsible for
making this notification:

Ms C Driscoll
For Merrill Lynch Investment Managers Group Services Limited
Secretary

17) Date of notification:

5 April 2006


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