Former Head Office Approved

Sainsbury(J) PLC
26 September 2001


                  Development of Former Head Office Approved


J Sainsbury plc, was last night granted permission by Southwark Council to
redevelop its former headquarters building, close to Blackfriars Bridge on the
South Bank.

Sainsbury's is in the process of relocating its headquarters staff to a single
new building in Holborn, which enables the redevelopment of the old Stamford
Street site. Historically, the company headquarters has been fragmented across
a number of buildings in and around Stamford Street. Relocation to a single,
flexible office building forms an integral part of the company's business
transformation programme. The move, which commenced on Monday, is well under
way and colleagues are already seeing the benefits of working in a modern
office environment.

Ian Coull, Board Director of J Sainsbury plc, said; 'We are delighted that we
have now been given the go-ahead to proceed with our proposals, which form an
important stage in the regeneration of this part of Southwark. This
undoubtedly creates value as we consider the best ways for realising our
property assets. We will be selecting a joint venture partner with whom to
develop and finance this site. It is estimated that the redeveloped site will
be valued at more than £200 million. The new building on Stamford Street will
be versatile enough to house a single occupier or multi occupiers, allowing us
the option of returning to Stamford Street once construction is complete.

'The plans comprise a single, medium rise building of five storeys, rising to
eighteen storeys at the north-east corner, close to the bridge. As well as
375,000 sq ft of modern, flexible office space, the redevelopment provides a
new public open space and a 10,000 sq ft Sainsbury's Central supermarket. The
project is estimated to take approximately 30 months to deliver, including a
six month demolition programme.'

Ian Coull added; 'The introduction of a Sainsbury's Central Store will plug a
retail gap in the area, allowing local people to shop locally. This emerged
very clearly throughout our consultation process as a major perceived benefit
for the local community.'

Media Contact:         Mandy Pursey:                020 7695 6329
                       Emma Cerrone:                020 7695 7272/0012

Investor Contact:      Jennifer VanDerEem:          020 7695 6227