Burberry Demerger

Burberry Group PLC
17 November 2005

17 November 2005


                                    GUS plc
                               Burberry demerger

GUS plc, the retail and business services group, today announces details of its
plans to demerge its remaining 65% stake in Burberry Group plc. Subject to GUS
and Burberry shareholder approval, this will be achieved by way of a dividend in
specie to take effect on 13 December 2005 and will be accompanied by a
consolidation of GUS shares.

Sir Victor Blank, Chairman of GUS, commented:

'The demerger of our remaining stake in Burberry is another major step in
focusing GUS on fewer activities. Distributing our stake to existing GUS
shareholders will enable them to participate directly in the exciting growth
opportunities we see at Burberry. We wish everyone at Burberry well as a fully
independent company and thank them for their wonderful support.'

Benefits of the demerger
The Board of GUS believes the significant benefits from the demerger include
that it:

  • enables GUS to release the value of its shareholding in Burberry directly to
    its shareholders;

  • simplifies the management of GUS by substantially eliminating the need to deal
    with Burberry matters, including financial reporting, pensions, taxation and
    human resources management;

  • allows the management of GUS to focus on its other businesses, Argos Retail
    Group and Experian;

  • assists GUS and Burberry to manage independently their individual capital
    requirements and balance sheet structures; and

  • allows GUS shareholders who retain their demerger entitlement of
    Burberry shares to participate directly in Burberry's future.


Further details
A GUS circular setting out the detailed proposals regarding the demerger will be
sent to GUS shareholders on 19 November 2005. GUS will hold an EGM to seek the
approval of GUS shareholders for these proposals on 12 December 2005. Burberry
will also hold an EGM on the same day to obtain approval from its non-GUS
shareholders.

If the proposals are approved by the shareholders of both GUS and Burberry, GUS
shareholders will be credited with their entitlement to Burberry shares and the
new consolidated GUS shares at 0700 hours on 13 December 2005 (the record time).
Dealings will start at 0800 hours on 13 December 2005.

For every 1,000 existing GUS shares held on the record date, GUS shareholders
will receive 305 Burberry shares and approximately 859 new GUS shares. The
latter is for illustrative purposes only and is based on share prices at the
close of business on 15 November 2005. The exact consolidation ratio for the
existing GUS shares will be based on the average closing price of GUS and
Burberry shares for the four days up to and including 17 November 2005 and will
be announced tomorrow.

Assuming the new GUS and Burberry shares are both retained until the dividend
record dates (6 January 2006 for both companies), GUS shareholders will be
eligible for the interim dividend from Burberry (2.5p per Burberry share) and
the interim dividend from GUS (9.6p per new consolidated GUS share). This is
equivalent to approximately 9.0p per existing GUS share, calculated on the basis
of the illustrative consolidation ratio set out above.


Enquiries

GUS
David Tyler         Group Finance Director         020 7495 0070
Fay Dodds           Director of Investor Relations

Finsbury
Rupert Younger                                     020 7251 3801
Rollo Head

GUS and Burberry announcements are available on www.gusplc.com.


Information on Burberry Group plc
Burberry is an internationally recognised luxury goods brand. It is engaged in
the design, manufacture and distribution of Burberry products worldwide,
including men's and women's clothing, accessories and fragrances through its own
retail stores and via its wholesale customers. Burberry also licenses third
parties to manufacture and distribute products using the 'Burberry' brand.

The current executive directors of Burberry are Rose Marie Bravo, Chief
Executive and Stacey Cartwright, Chief Financial Officer.

For the year ended 31 March 2005, under UK GAAP, Burberry reported turnover of
£715m and profit on ordinary activities before tax of £164.4m. As at 31 March
2005, Burberry had consolidated gross assets of £682.2m and consolidated net
assets of £454.6m, again under UK GAAP. This financial information is extracted
from the audited accounts for Burberry for the year ended 31 March 2005.

In the six months ended 30 September 2005, under IFRS, Burberry reported
turnover of £355m and profit before taxation of £78.1m. As at 30 September 2005,
Burberry had consolidated gross assets of £673.1m and consolidated net assets of
£462.2m, again under IFRS. This financial information is extracted from the
unaudited interim financial statements for Burberry for the six months ended 30
September 2005.

Burberry Ordinary Shares are listed on the Official List and traded on the
London Stock Exchange. The Burberry Ordinary Shares have not been and will not
be registered under the US Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the 'Securities
Act'), and may not be offered or sold unless pursuant to a transaction that is
registered under the Securities Act, or not required to be registered
thereunder, or pursuant to an exemption from the registration requirements
thereof.

The Burberry Ordinary Shares referred to in this announcement have not been
approved or disapproved by the US Securities and Exchange Commission, any state
securities commission in the United States or any other US regulatory authority,
nor have such authorities passed upon or determined the adequacy or accuracy of
this announcement. Any representation to the contrary is a criminal offence in
the United States.

JPMorgan Cazenove Limited ('JPMorgan Cazenove') is acting for GUS in connection
with the demerger and no one else and will not be responsible to anyone other
than GUS for providing the protections afforded to clients of JPMorgan Cazenove
or for providing advice in relation to the demerger or any other matters
referred to in this announcement.




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