Final Results

British Assets Trust PLC
12 November 2001


Unaudited results for the year ended 30 September 2001

Highlights

* Net asset value total return outperforms the benchmark index by 4.0
percentage points.
* Best performing investment trust in the Global Growth & Income Sector,  in
terms of share price total return and net asset value total return, for the
one, three and five year periods to 30 September 2001
* Total dividends increased by 11.7 per cent
* Holding in Investors Capital Trust realised at a small discount,
* securing an uplift in the Company's net asset value
* Capital structure simplified on 30 September 2001

Performance

In a difficult year for stock markets around the world the Company succeeded
in outperforming its benchmark index of 75 per cent FTSE All-Share Index and
25 per cent FTSE World (ex UK) Index. Although net asset value total return,
with net dividends reinvested, was -18.7 per cent, this was 4.0 percentage
points ahead of the Company's benchmark index which returned -22.7 per cent
for the year. During the latter part of the year stockmarkets were very
volatile. In September alone the benchmark index fell 9.7 per cent following
the tragic terrorist attacks in the United States of America on 11 September
and continuing concerns about global economic conditions. 

The investment in Investors Capital Trust (ICT) had been the Company's largest
holding, representing 31.9 per cent of its total investments as at 30
September 2000 and 32.7 per cent of its total investments as at 31 March 2001.
ICT's board announced proposals on 25 May 2001 that enabled the Company to
realise its holding in ICT at a small discount, securing an uplift in the net
asset value. The Company received an in specie transfer of its share of ICT's
investment portfolio on 26 June 2001.

The investment performance of the Company's UK portfolio is now determined
solely by returns from direct equity holdings rather than being partly
dependent on changes in the discount to net asset value of the shares of ICT. 

Capital Structure

In accordance with its articles of association the Company's capital structure
simplified on 30 September 2001. The growth shares in issue on that date
converted automatically into ordinary shares on a one for one basis and the
Company's remaining warrants were exercised into ordinary shares during the
exercise period between 1 July 2001 and 30 September 2001, at a subscription
price of 101p. 

Following the conversion of growth shares and exercise of warrants the only
shares in issue as at 30 September 2001 were ordinary shares.

Earnings and Dividends

The Company's earnings were 7.12p per ordinary share in respect of the year
ended 30 September 2001. The Board has declared a fourth interim dividend of
1.414p per ordinary share payable on 7 January 2002 to ordinary shareholders
on the register on 29 June 2001. This brings total dividends for the financial
year, including the special dividend of 0.5p per ordinary share paid on 8
October 2001, to 5.826p per ordinary share, an increase of 11.7 per cent
compared to the dividends paid for the year ended 30 September 2000. The total
dividend, excluding the special dividend, was 5.326p per ordinary share, an
increase of 2.1 per cent compared with an increase in the Retail Prices Index
of 1.7 per cent. The ordinary dividend, excluding the special dividend, has
been increased over the past seven years by 21.6 per cent compared with an
increase of 20.4 per cent in the Retail Prices Index, representing real growth
in dividends over this period.

It should be noted that the special dividend was paid to pass on to
shareholders some of the benefit of an early dividend payment received from
ICT at the time of its reorganisation and fund raising. In normal
circumstances this dividend would have been paid in the subsequent year.

Future Dividend Policy

Following the reconstruction of ICT the Board announced on 21 June 2001 that,
for future years, greater emphasis would be placed on maximising the total
return of the Company, and whilst the Board would seek to maintain a
progressive dividend policy, from the current base of 5.326p per ordinary
share, future dividends would be dependent upon, inter alia, the rate of
revenue growth within the investment portfolio, and the level of dividend
cover.

Revenue Reserves

Another significant transfer has been made to revenue reserves which, at 30
September 2001, represented dividend cover of 143 per cent excluding the
special dividend.

It should be noted that, following the conversion of growth shares to ordinary
shares as described above, dividends paid over the next few years are not
likely to be covered by earnings due to the larger number of ordinary shares
in issue. The Board has increased the level of dividend cover since the
reorganisation in 1994 to give a reasonable cushion against this event.
However, going forward, by placing emphasis on maximising the total return of
the Company, and with flexibility in terms of dividend growth,  the Board is
of the opinion that total returns to shareholders over the longer term will be
higher.

Marketing

During the year the Company's retail initiatives have continued to create
demand for shares through its ZeroCharge TM Individual Savings Accounts (ISAs)
and Investment Plans. Despite the difficult market conditions that prevailed
during the year, demand created through the plans increased by 84 per cent
compared to the previous year.  The Managers will continue to place emphasis
on marketing the Company's shares to IFA clients and direct to private
investors. 

Share Buy-Backs

During the year the Company bought back 3,796,212 ordinary shares, 6,446,096
growth shares and 3,821,491 warrants for a total consideration of £17.3
million.  These buy backs enhanced the fully diluted net asset value by
approximately 0.4p per share.

The Board is now seeking to renew its authority from shareholders to buy back
up to 14.99 per cent of ordinary shares in issue as the existing authority, to
the extent not utilised, will expire at this year's AGM.

Gearing

In light of what the Managers believe to be attractive borrowing conditions,
the Company issued a 30 year £60 million Secured Bond during September 2001.
The proceeds of the issue were used partly to repay the balance of the
remaining units of the Equities Index Unsecured Loan Stock and the remainder
of the proceeds, although uninvested at the year end, is intended for long
term investment in equities in accordance with the Company's investment
objective.

This new borrowing, together with the existing £60 million 2008 Bond and the
yen loan, resulted in the Company's level of gearing increasing to 29 per cent
as at 30 September 2001, although the level of liquidity at the year end was
£63.1 million which reduced the effective level of gearing to 16 per cent. The
Managers believe that there are good long term prospects for equities which
will exceed the cost of financing the borrowings, thereby providing the
opportunity for attractive returns for shareholders. 

Outlook

Markets are likely to remain unsettled in the short term given the
uncertainties surrounding the current United States led military campaign
against terrorist groups. Although global growth continues to moderate,
individual stockmarkets appear to offer reasonable value at current levels.
Aggressive monetary easing by the world's leading central banks and further
fiscal support should allow stockmarkets to recover in 2002 as investors
anticipate a recovery in growth and an improving outlook for corporate
profits.


Enquiries:  Julie Dent/Gordon Humphries,   Tel: [phone]
 

Unaudited Statement of Total Return (Incorporating the revenue account)
for the Year ended 30 September 2001

                                      Notes       2001       2001       2001
                                                 Revenue  Capital      Total
                                                   £'000    £'000      £'000
                            
                            
Losses on investments                               -    (142,407)  (142,407)
Warrants purchased for cancellation                 -      (1,774)    (1,774)
Exchange differences                                -       2,453      2,453
Net movement in Loan Stock liability        4       -       4,766      4,766
Income                                         26,753           -     26,753
Investment management fee                        (832)     (2,587)    (3,419)
Other expenses                                 (1,095)          -     (1,095)
                                                ______     ______      ______
Net revenue before finance costs & taxation    24,826    (139,549)  (114,723)
                            
Finance costs                                  (2,269)     (2,784)    (5,053)
                                                ______     ______      ______
Return on ordinary activities before tax       22,557    (142,333)  (119,776)
                            
Tax on ordinary activities                       (897)        655       (242)
                                                 ______     ______     ______
Return attributable to equity shareholders       21,660   (141,678) (120,018)
                            
Dividends in respect of equity shares       2   (17,666)         -   (17,666)
                                                 ______     ______     ______
Transfer to / (from) reserves                     3,994   (141,678) (137,684)
                                                 ______     ______     ______
                            
                            
Return per ordinary share                   1                     
                            
Basic                                             7.12p    40.16p)   (33.04p)
                            
Diluted (FRS 14)                                  7.08p   (39.93p)   (32.85p)
                            
Return per growth share                            
                            
Basic                                                -          -          -
                            
Diluted (FRS14)                                      -          -          -

Statement of Total Return (Incorporating the revenue account)
for the Year ended 30 September 2000

                                      Notes       2000       2000       2000
                                               Revenue    Capital      Total
                                                 £'000      £'000      £'000
                            
                            
Gains on investments                                 -     96,643     96,643
Warrants purchased for cancellation                  -     (4,251)   (4,251)
Exchange differences                                 -     (2,407)   (2,407)
Net movement in Loan Stock liability       4         -     (1,902)   (1,902)
Income                                          23,499          -     23,499
Investment management fee                         (851)    (1,702)   (2,553)
Other expenses                                    (929)         -      (929)
                                                 ______    ______     ______
Net return before finance costs & taxation       21,719    86,381    108,100
                            
Finance costs                                    (2,262)   (2,546)   (4,808)
                                                  ______   ______     ______
                            
Return on ordinary activities before tax          19,457   83,835   103,292
                            
Tax on ordinary activities                        (1,249)     881      (368)
                                                   ______  ______     ______
                            
Return attributable to equity shareholders         18,208  84,716   102,924
                            
Dividends in respect of equity shares        2    (16,035)      -   (16,035)
                                                   ______  ______     ______
Transfer to reserves                                2,173  84,716    86,889
                                                   ______  ______     ______
                            
Return per ordinary share                    1                     
                            
Basic                                                5.85p  3.12p     28.97p
                            
Diluted (FRS 14)                                     5.78p 22.90p     28.68p
                            
Return per growth share                            
                            
Basic                                                    - 23.12p     23.12p
                            
Diluted (FRS 14)                                         - 22.90p     22.90p
                            

 

Unaudited Balance Sheet as at 30 September               2001          2000
                                                        £'000         £'000
              
Fixed assets              
              
Investments                                            572,445      739,558
              
Current assets              
              
Debtors                                                  7,665        3,191
Cash at bank and on deposit                             68,765       18,971
                                                       ________     _______
                                                         76,430      22,162
              
Creditors: amounts falling due within one year          (13,361)    (14,857)
                                                        ________    _______
Net current assets                                        63,069      7,305
                                                        _______     _______
Total assets less current liabilities                    635,514    746,863
                                                        ________    _______
Creditors: amounts falling due after more than one year(143,096)  (104,631)
                                                        ________    _______
                                                         492,418    642,232
                                                        ________    _______
Capital and reserves              
Called-up share capital                                   88,341     90,059
Share premium account                                      6,188      3,630
Other reserves:              
Capital reserve - realised                               378,085    252,875
Capital reserve - unrealised                             (11,742)   270,676
Capital redemption reserve                                 8,501      5,941
Revenue reserve                                            3,045     19,051
                                                         _______    _______
Total shareholders' funds                                492,418    642,232
                                                         _______    _______
Equity shareholders' funds                               492,418    642,232
                                                         _______    _______
Net asset value per share              
              
Ordinary               
- Basic                                                    139.4p    178.3p
- Fully diluted                                                -     176.8p
- Diluted (FRS 14)                                             -     177.0p

 
Unaudited Summarised Statement of Cash Flows              
                                                   Year to 30     Year to 30
                                               September 2001  September 2000 
                                                        £'000          £'000
              
Net cash inflow from operating activities              21,253         20,662
Servicing of finance                                   (4,865)       (2,718)
Taxation                                                   65            506
Capital expenditure and financial investment           20,601         28,367
Equity dividends paid                                 (16,170)      (15,918)
                                                      ________      ________
Net cash inflow before financing                       20,884         30,899
Financing                                              28,784        (17,811)
                                                     ________       ________
Increase in cash                                       49,668         13,088
                                                     ________       ________
Reconciliation of net cash flow to movement in net debt              
              
Increase in cash                                       49,668         13,088
6.25% bonds issued                                    (59,231)             -
Yen 4.25 billion loan drawndown                             -        (23,901)
EIULS purchased for cancellation                       13,737         14,881
Currency gains                                            126            293
Decrease/(increase) in EIULS liability                  4,766         (1,902)
Decrease /(increase) in Yen Loan liability              2,327         (2,700)
Increase in 6.625% Bonds 2008 liability                   (63)           (63)
Increase in 6.25% Bonds 2031 liability                     (1)             -
                                                      ________      ________
Movement in net debt                                   11,329           (304)
Net debt at 1 October                                 (85,660)       (85,356)
                                                     ________       ________
Net debt at 30 September                              (74,331)       (85,660)
                                                     ________       ________
Reconciliation of net revenue before finance costs and taxation to net cash
inflow from operating activities              
              
Net revenue before finance costs and taxation           24,826        21,719
Stock dividends                                              -           (31)
(Increase) / decrease in accrued income                 (1,115)          886
Increase in other creditors                                464           335
Investment management fee charged to capital            (2,587)       (1,702)
Tax on investment income                                  (335)         (545)
                                                      ________      ________
Net cash inflow from operating activities                21,253       20,662
                                                       ________     ________



 Notes

1.       Basic revenue return per ordinary share is based on a weighted
average of 304,083,555 (2000: 311,287,948) ordinary shares in issue.  Diluted
return per ordinary and growth share has been calculated in accordance with
FRS 14 (Earnings per share).

2.       The fourth interim dividend of 1.414p per ordinary share, will be
paid on 7 January 2002 to ordinary shareholders on the register at close of
business on 29 June 2001.

3.       As stated in previous annual reports, the ordinary shares arising
from the conversion of the growth shares will not rank for any dividends for
the year ended 30 September 2001. Similarly, the ordinary shares arising from
the exercise of the warrants will also not rank for any dividends for the
year. The first dividend to be received by shareholders whose shares arise
from the conversion of growth shares or the exercise of warrants will,
therefore, be the first interim dividend for the year ended 30 September 2002,
which is expected to be paid in April 2002.

4.       The Company bought in 6,107,903 units of Equities Index Unsecured
Loan Stock during the year ended 30 September 2001 at a cost of £13,737,000
(2000 - 5,031,989 units at a cost of £14,881,000).  As at 30 September 2001
there were no units remaining in issue.  The capital movement for the EIULS
units during the year ended 30 September 2001 reflects the net movement in the
EIULS liability.

5.       The Company had 353,362,282 ordinary shares in issue as at 30
September 2001:

During the year to 30 September 2001 the Company bought in 3,796,212
ordinary shares for cancellation at a cost of £5,868,000.

During the year to 30 September 2001 the Company bought in 6,446,096 growth
shares for cancellation at a cost of £9,662,000.  The balance of 46,770,630
shares automatically converted to ordinary shares on 30 September 2001.

During the year the company bought in 3,821,491 warrants for cancellation at a
cost of £1,774,000.  A total of 3,366,652 warrants were exercised into
ordinary shares at an exercise price of 101p during the exercise period from 1
July 2001 to 30 September 2001.

              Net Asset Value per Share is based on 353,362,282  Shares in
issue, being the total number of ordinary shares (2000: 360,237,938 ordinary
and growth shares) in issue.  Fully diluted net asset value in respect of the
year ended 30 September 2000 assumes the exercise of the warrants outstanding
at that date.

The diluted net asset values are calculated in accordance with FRS 14.

 
6.       These are not full statutory accounts in terms of Section 240 of the
Companies Act 1985.  The full audited accounts for the year to 30 September
2000, which were unqualified, have been lodged with the Registrar of
Companies.  The 2001 annual report will be sent to shareholders during
November 2001 and will be available for inspection at One Charlotte Square,
Edinburgh, the registered office of the Company.

7.       The following table provides a breakdown of the estimated
contributions to the total return for the year:

Attribution of Return                               Percentage points
Market/benchmark return                                         -22.7
Asset Allocation                                                 -0.3
Gearing                                                          -2.8
Currency (Yen Loan)                                               0.4
Stock Selection                     
                     
       UK Equities                                                6.5
       Overseas Equities                                         -0.8
Narrowing of the ICT discount                                     1.3
Share buy-back programme                                          0.4
Expenses                                                         -0.7
                                                               ______
British Assets Trust total return                               -18.7
                                                               ______

8.       The Company's geographic exposure as a percentage of ordinary
shareholders' funds at 30 September 2001 was as follows (comparative figures
are for 30 September 2000).

                                                      2001       2000

UK (2000: less Equities Index Unsecured 
       Loan Stock)                                    82.3       79.3
              
Europe                                                 7.5       10.1
              
North America                                         22.6       12.7
              
Japan                                                  2.5        3.3
              
Pacific (ex Japan)                                     1.4        1.7
              
Liquidity (less prior capital)                       (16.3)     (7.1)
                                                      _____     _____
                                                      100.0     100.0
                                                      _____     _____