Acquisition

Clarke(T.) PLC
10 January 2005

                    T. CLARKE WIDENS GEOGRAPHICAL OPERATIONS
                         WITH £4.2M SCOTTISH ACQUISITION


The Board of T. Clarke plc ('T. Clarke'), the electrical engineering and
contracting company today announces the acquisition of Smith Contracting
Services Ltd. ('SCS') for £4.2m, of which £1.0m will be satisfied by the issue
of new shares in T. Clarke and the balance by the payment of cash.

SCS is a privately owned electrical and mechanical contractor with 170 employees
based in Falkirk and Aberdeen. The company specialises in electrical contracting
for large new build residential projects and has a strong reputation in its
local markets. It is the largest electrical contractor to private housing
developers in Scotland.

In the year to March 2004, SCS reported turnover of £10.894m, a pre-tax profit
of £338,000, following an exceptional bad debt of £320,000 and had net assets of
£1.313m. The Board of T. Clarke is confident that as part of the larger group
SCS will continue its growth.

Trading Update

The Board of T. Clarke has reviewed trading during the second half of 2004 and
is able to confirm that the results for the year ended 31 December 2004 will
be in line with market expectations. The positive trend noted for trading
conditions in 2005 and beyond has continued to gather momentum and the Directors
have confidence that this trend will not weaken in the foreseeable future.

Pat Stanborough Chief Executive commented,

' I am delighted to announce the acquisition of Smith Contracting Services. It
is an excellent local business, with a first class reputation in its Scottish
markets. The company has grown well in the past few years, both organically and
through acquisition. We are confident that as part of the larger T. Clarke
group, the business can continue its growth pattern. This is our first
acquisition in Scotland and SCS will form the backbone of our Scottish
operations. We have always placed a strong emphasis on broadening the base of
our regional operations and this acquisition fits our strategy perfectly.

' We are pleased with current trading, which remains in line with our
expectations. Our core markets in London and the South East are continuing to
show significant signs of recovery. Consequently, our order books are improving
and we are pleased that we have won a number of large projects that extend into
the next trading year and beyond. Our regional businesses are also reporting
encouraging progress and we are hopeful of reporting further major project wins
in March.'

                                     -ends-

Date: 10 January 2005
For further information contact:

T. Clarke plc                                      City Profile Group
Pat Stanborough, Chief Executive                   Simon Courtenay
John Daly, Finance Director                        Tel: [phone]
Tel: [phone]
Web: www.tclarke.co.uk


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