UK Cheese Business Sold

UNILEVER PLC
UNILEVER NV
26 October 1999


        UNILEVER COMPANY SELLS UK CHEESE BUSINESS

Unilever announced today that its UK subsidiary, Van den
Bergh Foods, has sold its hard cheese business to
Yieldingtree Limited for an undisclosed sum.

The British Creameries factory at West Marton employs 75
people and generates annual sales of approximately £15
million.  The transaction includes the West Marton
factory, certain cheese licences, BCL and West Marton
Dairies Limited company names, and Dalespride and Yella
Fella trademarks.

Employees were told  in February 1998 that a full scale
review of the business was to be held. This review
concluded in June 1998 that hard cheese products did not
have a long term future within VdBF's strategic
development.

Yieldingtree is a private company which comprises
Yieldingtree Limited, a chilled food wholesale company
and yoghurt manufacturer based near Stourbridge, and
Central Provisions Limited, a cheese packing and
processing company near Hereford.

West Marton Creamery opened in 1900 and in 1947
incorporated West Marton Dairies Ltd. The West Marton
group of companies were acquired by Associated Dairies
Ltd in 1960. In 1987 the creamery was bought by Van den
Bergh Foods and began trading as British Creameries Ltd.