Offer Update

Guinness Peat Group PLC
05 August 2002




Embargoed until 7.00am:                                            5 August 2002



NOT FOR RELEASE, PUBLICATION OR DISTRIBUTION IN OR INTO THE UNITED STATES,
                         CANADA, JAPAN OR AUSTRALIA

                        Guinness Peat Group plc ('GPG')

              Mandatory Cash Offer for Ryland Group plc ('Ryland')

          Extension of Offer and Announcement of Level of Acceptances



On 12 July 2002, Deloitte & Touche Corporate Finance made a mandatory cash offer
on behalf of GPG at a price of 120p per share for the entire issued and to be
issued ordinary share capital of Ryland other than the 8,894,340 Ryland Shares
which GPG already owned.

GPG announces that the Offer has been extended and that it will remain open for
acceptance until 3.00 p.m. on Friday, 16 August 2002.

As at 3.00 p.m. on 2 August 2002, the first closing date of the Offer, valid
acceptances of the Offer had been received in respect of a total of 150,616
Ryland Shares, representing approximately 0.5 per cent. of the issued ordinary
share capital of Ryland.

As at 7 July 2002 (being the date immediately prior to the commencement of the
Offer Period), GPG held 8,889,340 Ryland Shares representing approximately 29.99
per cent. of the issued ordinary share capital of Ryland. On 8 July 2002, GPG
acquired a further 5,000 Ryland Shares representing approximately 0.02 per cent.
of the issued ordinary share capital of Ryland.

Save as disclosed above, no Ryland Shares or rights over Ryland Shares have been
acquired or agreed to be acquired by or on behalf of GPG or any persons acting
or deemed to be acting in concert with GPG for the purposes of the Offer during
the course of the Offer Period. Save as disclosed above, no Ryland Shares or
rights over Ryland Shares were held by or on behalf of GPG or any persons acting
or deemed to be acting in concert with GPG for the purposes of the Offer prior
to the Offer Period. No acceptances of the Offer have been received from any
persons acting or deemed to be acting in concert with GPG for the purposes of
the Offer.

Accordingly, as at 3.00 p.m. on 2 August 2002, GPG owned or had received valid
acceptances for a total of 9,044,956 Ryland Shares, representing approximately
30.5 per cent. of the issued ordinary share capital of Ryland.

Ryland Shareholders who have not yet accepted the Offer and who wish to do so
are strongly encouraged to complete and return the Form of Acceptance as soon as
possible and, in any event, so as to be received either by post by Computershare
Investor Services PLC at P.O. Box 859, The Pavilions, Bridgwater Road, Bristol
BS99 1XZ or (during normal business hours) by hand only by Computershare
Investor Services PLC at 7th Floor, Jupiter House, Triton Court, 14 Finsbury
Square, London EC2A 1BR, no later than 3.00 p.m. on Friday, 16 August 2002.

Enquiries:
Guinness Peat Group                                   Tel: [phone]

Blake Nixon                                           UK Executive Director

Mark Butcher                                          Senior Investment Manager

Deloitte & Touche Corporate Finance                   Tel: [phone]

Robin Binks                                           Partner

Weber Shandwick Square Mile                           Tel: [phone]

Kevin Smith                                           Director



Unless the context otherwise requires, the definitions set out in the offer
document dated 12 July 2002 relating to the Offer apply in this announcement.

Deloitte & Touche Corporate Finance is acting for GPG in connection with the
Offer and no-one else and will not be responsible to anyone other than GPG for
providing the protections offered to clients of Deloitte & Touche Corporate
Finance nor for providing advice in relation to the Offer. Deloitte & Touche
Corporate Finance is a division of Deloitte & Touche which is authorised by the
Financial Services Authority in respect of regulated activities. Deloitte &
Touche can be contacted at its principal office: Stonecutter Court, 1
Stonecutter Street, London EC4A 4TR.

The Offer is not being made directly or indirectly in or into the United States,
Canada, Japan or Australia. Accordingly, copies of this announcement are not
being, and must not be, mailed or otherwise distributed or sent in or into or
from the United States, Canada, Japan or Australia.

The availability of the Offer to persons outside the United Kingdom may be
affected by the laws of other jurisdictions. Such persons should inform
themselves about and observe any applicable requirements of those jurisdictions.

The GPG Directors accept responsibility for the information contained in this
announcement. To the best of the knowledge and belief of the GPG Directors (who
have taken all reasonable care to ensure that such is the case), such
information is in accordance with the facts and does not omit anything likely to
affect the import of such information.




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