Performance at Month End

Merrill Lynch UK Inv Tst PLC
16 October 2002


MONTHLY PERFORMANCE
MERRILL LYNCH UK INVESTMENT TRUST plc
All information is at 30 September 2002 and unaudited.

Performance at month end with net income reinvested

                                        One              Three               One              Three             Five
                                      month             months              year              years            years

Net asset value                      -12.3%             -21.8%            -26.1%             -45.6%           -35.7%

Share price                          -19.2%             -30.5%            -34.5%             -55.5%           -50.1%

FTSE All-Share Index                 -11.8%             -19.6%            -20.8%             -31.2%           -16.8%

 Sources: Merrill Lynch Investment Managers, Standard & Poor's Micropal

At month end

Net asset value*                                                             602.99p

Share price:                                                                 455.00p

Discount:                                                                      24.5%

Total assets:                                                                £118.6m

Net Yield:                                                                      6.3%

Gearing:                                                                       49.9%

Effective gearing:                                                             14.6%

Value of debt:                                                                £39.5m

Ordinary shares in issue:                                                 13,368,799



*Includes current year net revenue of 11.40p.

UK Sectors                                                                       % Total Assets

Financials                                                                                 22.1

Cyclical Services                                                                          14.8

Non-Cyclical Consumer Goods                                                                14.1

Resources                                                                                  11.1

Non-Cyclical Services                                                                       7.2

Basic Industries                                                                            2.1

Utilities                                                                                   2.0

General Industrials                                                                         1.7

Information Technology                                                                      1.2

Cash                                                                                       25.5

Net current liabilities                                                                   (1.8)

Total                                                                                    100.0




Ten Largest Equity Investments
Company
                                                                                  % Investments

BP                                                                                          8.8

GlaxoSmithKline                                                                             5.8

HSBC                                                                                        5.8

HBOS                                                                                        5.7

Barclays                                                                                    5.2

Royal Bank of Scotland                                                                      4.4

Vodafone                                                                                    4.1

AstraZeneca                                                                                 3.8

Next                                                                                        3.7

Amersham                                                                                    3.6

Total                                                                                      50.9




Market commentary

UK Stockmarket Review

The UK equity market was weak in September, with the FTSE All-Share falling
11.8%.  Falls were particularly savage towards the end of the month, and the
FTSE 100 experienced its worst quarterly performance since the last three months
of 1987. September saw a continuation of August trends, with nervousness
surrounding economic growth prospects and shaky investor and consumer
confidence. These concerns were compounded by the prospect of a war in Iraq.

Performance Review

The Company's Net Asset Value (NAV) fell 12.3% in September, slightly behind the
FTSE All Share Index.

Defensive shares continued to outperform as falling stockmarkets caused
investors to seek the relative safety of companies with reliable and visible
earnings. Holdings in the healthcare sector, notably Amersham and Smith & Nephew
were helpful, although the lack of exposure to other defensive areas such as
food producers and electricity detracted from performance.

Banks remained under pressure and although we benefited from not holding Abbey
National, this was offset by the holdings in HBOS and Barclays, which also
underperformed. Life assurance companies continued to underperform, making the
sector one of the worst performers over the third quarter. Our low exposure here
was positive.  Construction shares suffered on concerns over the future shape of
Public Finance Initiatives (PFI), and the Trust suffered from the holding in
McAlpine.

The overweight position in clothing retailer Next was particularly positive over
the month, as the shares continue to perform well. We benefited from our lack of
exposure to BAe Systems, which fell sharply after announcing a loss in the first
half of the year due to programme delays.

Outlook

Ongoing economic uncertainty and the potential for further corporate scandals
(both phenomena generally outside of the UK itself) are likely to perpetuate the
volatility and nervousness of the UK stockmarket.  Over the longer term, there
are a number of trends within the UK that we expect to enhance earnings growth
for the companies involved.  These include outsourcing, pricing power, volume
growth and corporate restructuring.

Latest information is available by typing www.mlim.co.uk/its on the internet,
'MLIMINDEX' on Reuters, 'MLIM' on Bloomberg or '8800' on Topic 3 (ICV terminal).

15 October 2002




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