Acquisition

Hill & Smith Hldgs PLC
15 July 2002


Hill & Smith Holdings PLC ('Hill & Smith')

Hill & Smith Acquires the Business and Certain Assets
of Brifen Limited ('Brifen')


Hill & Smith, via its subsidiary Hill & Smith Limited, has completed the
acquisition of the business and certain assets of Brifen for a cash
consideration of circa £1.4m.

Brifen, based at Mansfield, manufactures and supplies wire rope safety fence and
traditional crash barrier systems for both domestic and export markets. Based on
its unaudited accounts, Brifen made an operating profit of £0.5m in the year
ended 31 December 2001 on sales of £7.4m and had net assets of £0.5m.

Commenting on the acquisition, the Hill & Smith Chief Executive, David Grove,
said:

'We are acquiring Brifen because it is the market leader in the UK for the
manufacture of wire rope safety fence systems installed on the central
reservations of motorways and dual carriageways. This expands our product range
in the highways infrastructure market, which is the target of increased
government expenditure over the next few years. This product is an ideal fit
alongside our traditional crash barrier products and will also provide
opportunities for growth in our export markets.'

Enquiries

David Grove, Chief Executive     07973 325 667

Website      www.hsholdings.co.uk



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