Trading Statement

GUS PLC
14 January 2003





14 January 2003

                                    GUS PLC
                          THIRD QUARTER TRADING UPDATE



GUS plc, the retail and business services group, today issues its regular update
on trading in its main businesses.


John Peace, Group Chief Executive of GUS, said:


'GUS made further good progress in the third quarter, with Experian, Argos and
Burberry all growing sales by more than 10%.  We look forward with confidence to
the remainder of the second half and the coming year, while remaining mindful of
the potential impact of economic and political uncertainty.'



Experian

% change in sales year on year for the three months to 31 December 2002

                                      Total %        Total at constant exchange
                                                             rates %

Experian North America                  4                       13

  Experian UK                          15                       15
  Experian Rest of World                8                       3
Experian International                 12                       11

Global Experian                         7                       12



Experian's total worldwide sales for the third quarter increased by 12% at
constant exchange rates.



Experian North America

In dollars, sales in Experian North America grew by 13% in the third quarter.
Sales at ConsumerInfo.com, which was acquired in April 2002, were $27m,
contributing 11% of this growth.  Had its sales been included for the
comparative period last year, Experian's dollar sales would have increased by
6%.



Excluding ConsumerInfo.com, sales in Credit Information and Credit Solutions
were ahead of last year, led by growth in business credit, in fraud and risk
management solutions and in Experian-developed direct-to-consumer products.
Direct-to-consumer sales (including ConsumerInfo.com) almost doubled to $32m,
while the number of subscribers to credit monitoring services reached 1.3m - up
from 700,000 at December 2001.



The trend in Marketing Information, Marketing Solutions and Outsourcing
continued to improve, with sales only marginally down on last year in the third
quarter.  FARES, the real estate information joint venture, had another good
quarter, benefiting from strong mortgage refinancing activity.



Experian International

Experian International, which accounts for approximately 40% of worldwide
revenue, grew sales by 11% in the third quarter excluding acquisitions and
disposals and at constant exchange rates.  The UK had an exceptionally good
quarter, with all activities performing well.



In Experian International, sales of Credit Information and Credit Solutions grew
strongly, partly because of the roll-out of major contracts won in the first
half.  Sales in Marketing Information and Marketing Solutions also increased
rapidly with Marketing Information benefiting from further growth in the
automotive and insurance sectors. Outsourcing sales were ahead of last year,
although impacted by a slow quarter in French cheque processing.



Nordic Info Group acquisition

Experian International has reached agreement, subject to certain closing
conditions, to acquire Nordic Info Group A/S. This market-leading group
comprises businesses providing consumer and business information in Denmark and
Norway.  It has annual sales of about £30m.



This acquisition will bring to eleven the number of consumer credit bureaux
operated by Experian worldwide.  It is an investment in one of Experian's core
competencies in a strategically important market.  It offers an opportunity to
sell Experian's value added products, such as application processing, fraud
prevention and customer management solutions, alongside Nordic Info Group's
information products.



The purchase consideration is approximately £90m, payable in cash within the
next month.  The acquisition is expected to be immediately earnings enhancing
and to generate a post-tax return in excess of GUS' cost of capital in its first
full financial year.




Argos Retail Group (ARG)



% change in sales year on year for the 14 weeks to 4 January 2003
                                                                       %

Argos1               - total                                           14
                     - like-for-like                                   7

UK Home Shopping2                                                     (8)

1     These figures exclude Argos Additions and jungle.com
      This figure excludes Family Hampers, which was sold in July 2002.  Its
2     sales in the same period last year were £46m



Argos

Argos continued to trade well in the third quarter and again outperformed in its
market.  Excluding Argos Additions and jungle.com, its sales increased by 14% in
total over the same period last year.  Like-for-like sales were up 7%, building
on 14% like-for-like growth in the Christmas period last year.  New stores
performed strongly, contributing an additional 7% to sales growth.



Sales were particularly strong in consumer electronics, electricals and home
furnishings.  Argos Direct, the delivery to home operation, grew sales by 35%,
now accounting for 15% of sales compared to 12% in the same period last year.
Gross margins at Argos were in line with last year.



The new Spring/Summer catalogue, which will be launched on 18 January, will
continue to offer customers better value and increased range (11,600 lines - a
25% increase on a year ago).  Argos is also initiating a test this month in five
of its larger stores in the South West to trial further expansion of its product
range.  Initially, 4,500 lines will be added to the existing range in a
catalogue called Argos Extra.



UK Home Shopping

In a slow clothing market, sales at UK Home Shopping for the period were 8%
lower than last year excluding businesses that have been divested.  Although
demand from customers was only slightly below last year, poor stock availability
led to lower sales.  This stock availability issue has been addressed for the
recently launched Spring/Summer catalogues.



Growth in direct catalogues, however, continued to be strong, led by a good
performance from Abound.  Gross margins in UK Home Shopping as a whole were
slightly lower than last year, reflecting product mix.



E-commerce

Sales via the internet in ARG were £75m in the third quarter, up by about
two-thirds compared to the same period last year.  E-commerce now accounts for
over 4% of ARG sales.  Argos was again the third most visited UK retail website
in the period.



Homebase

The acquisition of Homebase was completed on 20 December 2002. Assuming that
there is a continuation in the pattern of trade seen in its financial year to
date, Homebase is forecast to make an operating profit before financing charges,
tax and exceptional items of approximately £100m in the twelve months to 1
February 2003.



Homebase's year-end will be moved to the end of February with immediate effect
to bring it closer to the GUS March year-end.  Although still not coterminous
with GUS, it will avoid distortions relating to the timing of Easter and related
promotions and trading patterns.





Burberry



Following the partial IPO of Burberry Group plc, GUS retains a 77% stake in
Burberry.  The following is an abridged version of Burberry's Trading Update
released on 13 January 2003.



% change in sales year on year for the three months to 31 December 2002

                                                                       %

Total                                                                 33
Total at constant exchange rates                                      36



Total sales in the period increased by 33%, or by 18% on an underlying basis
(i.e. at constant exchange rates and excluding the impact of the Asia
acquisitions in January and July 2002).



Total Retail sales increased by 64%, or by 32% on an underlying basis, driven by
existing and new stores.  Burberry achieved outstanding growth in the US and UK
markets, aided by the successful opening of the New York and London
(Knightsbridge) flagship stores.



As expected, total Wholesale sales were broadly unchanged in the third quarter.
On the basis of the current order book, Burberry anticipates high single-digit
wholesale sales growth for the Spring/Summer 2003 season.



Total Licensing revenue in the quarter increased by 9%, reflecting single-digit
volume gains as well as increases in certain royalty rates in Japan.



Bond issue



The Homebase acquisition was initially funded from a bank facility arranged for
the purpose.  Over the coming weeks, GUS intends, subject to market conditions,
to refinance a significant proportion of this facility in the Eurobond market.



Future announcements



GUS' Second Half Trading Update will be on 16 April 2003.  The preliminary
results for the year to 31 March 2003 will be announced on 28 May 2003.





Enquiries


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

Finsbury
Rupert Younger                                                  020 7251 3801
Rollo Head



GUS announcements are available on its website www.gusplc.com.

There will be a conference call to discuss this update at 2pm today.  A replay
will be available later on the GUS website.



This announcement does not constitute an invitation to underwrite, subscribe for
or otherwise acquire or dispose of any GUS plc or Burberry Group plc shares.
Past performance is not a guide to future performance and persons needing advice
should consult an independent financial adviser.



Certain statements made in this Trading Update are forward looking statements.
Such statements are based on current expectations and are subject to a number of
risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially
from any expected future results in forward looking statements.






                      This information is provided by RNS
            The company news service from the London Stock Exchange