Acquisition

Schroders PLC
21 February 2006


Stock Exchange Release


Schroders to acquire NewFinance Capital, a London-based Funds of Hedge Funds
Manager


Tuesday 21 February 2006


Schroders plc ('Schroders') announces that it has reached agreement to acquire
100 per cent. of the share capital of NewFinance Capital, a London-based manager
of funds of hedge funds. At 31 December 2005, NewFinance Capital had assets
under management of approximately $2.5 billion with net revenues of
approximately $20 million in 2005. The consideration will be $101 million with
up to a further $41 million contingent on certain revenue targets being met, to
be paid over a four year period.

Founded in 2002, NewFinance Capital has developed rapidly under a highly
experienced management team, comprising Marc Hotimsky, Georges Saier and
Thorkild Juncker, with institutional-quality investment processes and a focused
product range in the multi-strategy and fixed income areas and more recently in
credit, commodities and equities. NewFinance Capital's clients include UK,
European, Middle Eastern and Japanese institutions, distributors and high net
worth investors. NewFinance Capital has a staff of 28 and is based in London,
with a research office in New York.

Schroders and NewFinance Capital have agreed to combine their funds of hedge
funds activities under NewFinance Capital's management to create a global funds
of hedge funds business with $3.2 billion of assets under management. NewFinance
Capital will become a wholly-owned subsidiary of Schroders operating as a
separate company within the Schroder Group. The company will operate under the
NewFinance Capital brand, with its managing partners and senior executives
continuing in their existing roles. NewFinance Capital's existing Opus Fund
range and investment process will remain unaffected, and the Schroders funds of
hedge funds business will continue to be managed by the current team before
combining with NewFinance Capital after closing.

Michael Dobson, Chief Executive of Schroders said, 'This acquisition increases
our exposure to alternative investments, broadens our product offering to
clients with a range of institutional quality funds and gives us critical mass
in an asset class which we believe will continue to be in demand by high net
worth and, increasingly, institutional investors. We are delighted to welcome
NewFinance Capital's team to the Schroder Group.'

Marc Hotimsky and Georges Saier, co-founders and managing partners of NewFinance
Capital, said 'The NewFinance Capital team is excited to join forces with
Schroders. This transaction ensures that we have the resources to continue
building our research platform and focus relentlessly on the performance of our
funds. We will continue to run NewFinance Capital as a dynamic, separate funds
of hedge funds team. We look forward to leading the NewFinance Capital team for
many years to come'.

The transaction is expected to be broadly neutral to Schroders' 2006 earnings
after the amortisation of intangible assets. Completion of the transaction is
subject, inter alia, to regulatory approvals.

Schroders was advised by Lexicon Partners Limited in this transaction.

Schroders contacts

Michael Dobson, Chief Executive                        [phone]
Henrietta Jowitt, Head of Marketing and Communications [phone]



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