One.Tel UK

Centrica PLC
3 July 2001


Tuesday 3 July, 2001

One.Tel acquisition makes Centrica a leading challenger in UK telecoms market

Centrica plc today announced it has acquired One.Tel plc, the UK operation of
One.Tel Limited (One.Tel UK). The transaction makes Centrica the largest
provider of indirect telecoms services in the UK with around one million
active customers.

One.Tel UK, the country's biggest indirect access telecoms company, has been
purchased for a total consideration of £58million, including assumed
liabilities. The acquisition is being made through the administrators of
Australian telecoms business, One.Tel Limited, which went into administration
on 29 May 2001.

The UK business, which was launched in August 1998 as a stand-alone company,
has continued to grow and trade profitably, quickly becoming established as a
leading residential services provider. One.Tel UK, like Centrica, is a
reseller or virtual network operator, with limited infrastructure ownership.
It will continue to trade under the One.Tel brand.

One.Tel UK has 650,000 active customers, providing a fixed line service
through an access code, dialers or carrier pre-selection. It also provides
mobile indirect access and plans to launch a direct mobile service to
customers later this year. The business provides an internet service to
100,000 customers in the UK.

The acquisition will also give Centrica control of the One.Tel brand in Europe
and North America. For year ending 30 June 2001 One.Tel UK predicts unaudited
sales of approximately £100million.

Centrica's telecoms operation was launched last September through British Gas
Communications, offering fixed line, mobile and internet service provision.

Ian El-Mokadem, Managing Director of Centrica Telecommunications said: 'We are
delighted to acquire a customer focused telecoms business with a strong brand
and a reputation for innovation and technological development. We will
continue to build on the strong position One.Tel UK has created and are
confident that their sales and marketing expertise will enhance our proven
capability in the telecoms market.

'Centrica now has around one million active telecoms customers and today's
acquisition is a significant step towards our target of 10 per cent of the
residential market.'

Chris Weston, Managing Director of One.Tel UK, said: 'This is very good news
for One.Tel UK. We are committed to working with Centrica to grow this
profitable business, offering value for money telephony products and services
under the One.Tel brand.'

Ends

Enquiries:

Centrica Media Relations:               01753 758445

Centrica Investor Relations:          01753 758114

One.Tel UK Media Relations:          0207 771 9966

Notes:

 1. In Britain, Centrica plc trades under the British Gas/Scottish Gas,
    Goldfish and the AA brands. In Canada, Centrica trades through the
    established Direct Energy brand and in the United States through Energy
    America.