Interim Results

British Portfolio Trust PLC
21 June 2002





For Immediate Release                              21st June 2002



                          BRITISH PORTFOLIO TRUST plc

                   ANNOUNCEMENT OF UNAUDITED INTERIM RESULTS

           For the period from 13th December 2001 to 30th April 2002



Net Asset Value

A summary of the results for the period from 13th December 2001 to 30th April
2002 is set out overleaf. The Net Asset Value per Ordinary Share as at 30th
April 2002 was 143.6 p. This represents a decrease of 0.1% over the Net Asset
Value as at 12th December 2001. Over the same period the Company's benchmark
index, the FTSE All-Share Index, rose by 1.13%.

Interim Dividend

The Board has declared an interim dividend of 1.1p per Ordinary Share in respect
of the four and a half month period which will absorb £477,525 and is payable on
9th September 2002 to all holders of Ordinary Shares on the Register of Members
at the close of business on 9th August 2002.

Share Buybacks

Following an Extraordinary General Meeting on 30th October 2001, the Court
approved the formation of a Special Reserve amounting to £63m, which arose from
the transfer of that amount from the Share Premium Account. During the period
under review 206,085 Ordinary Shares were purchased for cancellation at a cost
of £0.3m.

Review

In the period under review the UK equity market remained in a tight trading
range with the FTSE All-Share Index, up 1.13%. Although the data about the
economy in general continued to be encouraging, the problem was that at the
company level, the news remained cautious and the earnings outlook was cloudy.
In this period of uncertainty defensive sectors continued to outperform, such as
tobacco and utilities. These shares also offered attractive yields. Of the large
sectors, pharmaceuticals remained under pressure as patent expiries affected
sentiment towards these companies. Telecoms globally had structural problems as
over-capacity and lack of new products on the mobile side hurt the earnings
outlook. On a more positive note, the UK banking sector performed well, as
trading generally remained strong.

The portfolio remains overweight the UK banking sector and the oil sector is
also considered a good way to get exposure to any recovery in the economy. The
managers remain cautious about the pharmaceutical sector due to uncertainty over
future earnings prospects. The Board has maintained a relatively cautious
approach to gearing, with £6m of the £12m bank facility drawn down, and
approximately £4m of the facility invested in UK equities.



Outlook

Looking forward, the UK market needs to see convincing evidence that the cuts in
interest rates across the globe will help bring about an economic recovery. In
the meantime, the managers will use the current market weakness to invest in
companies with attractive valuations and good track records.





10 Fenchurch Street                          By Order of the Board

London EC3M 3LB                              P W I Ingram

                                            Company Secretary

SUMMARY OF RESULTS

STATEMENT OF TOTAL RETURN

For the period 13th December 2001 to 30th April 2002

                                                                      Revenue         Capital                 Total
                                                                            £               £                     £
                                                                     (Note 1)
Net gains on investments                                                    -         171,920               171,920
Income from fixed asset investments                                   837,443               -               837,443
Investment management fee                                            (83,370)       (250,593)             (333,963)
Administration expenses *                                           (110,210)               -             (110,210)
Return before finance costs and taxation                              643,863        (78,673)               565,190

Finance costs of borrowings                                          (34,792)       (102,346)             (137,138)
Return on ordinary activities before taxation                         609,071       (181,019)               428,052

Taxation                                                                    -               -                     -
Return after taxation attributable to Ordinary                        609,071       (181,019)               428,052
Shareholders

Dividends on Ordinary Shares
Interim 1.1p                                                        (477,525)               -             (477,525)

Transfer to (from) reserves                                           131,546       (181,019)              (49,473)

Return per Ordinary Share                                               1.40p            (0.42)p            (0.98)p

* Includes legal advice and loan commitment fee of £39,500 and £18,000 respectively.





NET ASSET STATEMENT

As at 30th April 2002
                                                                                                               £'000s
Fixed asset investments                                                                                    66,302,160
Net current assets                                                                                          2,046,729
Total Assets less Current Liabilities                                                                      68,348,889

Creditors - Amounts falling due after one year                                                            (6,000,000)
Total Net Assets                                                                                           62,348,889

Called up Share Capital                                                                                       434,114
Special Reserve                                                                                            62,733,711
Capital Reserves - Realised                                                                               (1,379,789)
- Unrealised                                                                                                  442,826
Capital Redemption Reserve                                                                                      2,061
Revenue Reserve                                                                                               115,966
Shareholders' Funds                                                                                        62,348,889
Net Asset Value per Ordinary Share                                                                             143.6p

The Net Asset Value is based on 43,411,405 Ordinary Shares in issue.







SUMMARY OF RESULTS

STATEMENT OF TOTAL RETURN

For the period 29th May to 12th December 2001
                                                                              Revenue          Capital             Total
                                                                                    £                £                 £
                                                                             (Note 1)
Net gains on investments                                                            -        (753,787)         (753,787)
Income from fixed asset investments                                                 -                -                 -
Other income                                                                    7,279                -             7,279
Investment management fee                                                       (654)          (1,479)           (2,133)
Administration expenses                                                      (21,979)                -          (21,979)
Return before finance costs and taxation                                     (15,354)        (755,266)         (770,620)

Finance costs of borrowings                                                     (226)            (678)             (904)
Return on ordinary activities before taxation                                (15,580)        (755,944)         (771,524)

Taxation                                                                            -                -                 -
Return after taxation                                                        (15,580)        (755,944)         (771,524)

Dividends on Ordinary Shares                                                        -                -                 -

Transfer from reserves                                                       (15,580)        (755,944)         (771,524)
Return per Ordinary Share                                                     (0.04)p          (1.77)p           (1.81)p

NET ASSET STATEMENT

As at 12th December 2001
                                                                                                                       £
Fixed asset investments                                                                                       64,160,142
Net current assets                                                                                             3,077,009
Total Assets less Current Liabilities                                                                         67,237,151

Creditors- Amounts falling due after one year                                                                (6,000,000)
Total Net Assets                                                                                              61,237,151

Called up Share Capital                                                                                          426,175
Share Premium Account                                                                                         61,582,500
Capital Reserves - Realised                                                                                      (2,157)
- Unrealised                                                                                                   (753,787)
Revenue Reserve                                                                                                 (15,580)
Shareholders' Funds                                                                                           61,237,151

Net Asset Value per Ordinary Share                                                                                143.7p

The Net Asset Value is based on 42,617,490 Ordinary Shares in issue.



SUMMARY OF RESULTS

CASH FLOW STATEMENT

For the period ended 30th April 2002 and comparative period
                                                                     April               December 2001
                                                                      2002
                                                                    £'000s                      £'000s

Net cash outflow from operating activities                       (220,199)                           -

Servicing of finance
Interest paid                                                     (89,354)                           -


Financing
Issue of Ordinary Shares                                         1,455,000                  63,921,362
Purchase of Ordinary Shares for cancellation                     (293,789)                           -
Sterling loan raised                                                     -                   6,000,000
Payment of issue costs                                         (1,903,577)                           -
Net cash inflow on financing                                     (742,366)                  69,921,362


Investing activities
Acquisition of fixed asset investments                        (73,924,028)                           -
Proceeds on disposal of fixed asset investments                  7,854,700                           -
Net cash outflow from financial investment                    (66,069,328)                           -

Dividends paid                                                           -                           -

(Decrease) increase in cash                                   (67,121,247)                  69,921,362





TWENTY LARGEST EQUITY HOLDINGS

For the period ended 30th April 2002
                                                  Valuation                      % of
                                                  £                             Total
                                                                              Assets*
BP Amoco                                          5,487,892                       8.0
GlaxoSmithKline                                   4,602,284                       6.7
Royal Bank of Scotland                            3,528,624                       5.2
Vodafone Group                                    3,294,249                       4.8
HSBC                                              3,177,630                       4.6
Shell Transport and Trading                       2,224,629                       3.3
Barclays                                          2,110,760                       3.1
HBOS                                              1,636,544                       2.4
AstraZeneca                                       1,556,060                       2.3
Abbey National                                    1,505,580                       2.2
Lloyds TSB Group                                  1,416,515                       2.1
Centrica                                          1,371,224                       2.0
Tesco                                             1,358,395                       2.0
Unilever                                          1,279,889                       1.9
BPB                                               1,102,800                       1.6
Compass                                           1,056,398                       1.5
Prudential                                          973,820                       1.4
Reed Elsevier                                       879,648                       1.3
BAA                                                 863,010                       1.3
Reckitt Benckiser                                   861,435                       1.3
                                                 40,287,386                      59.0

* Total Assets include current liabilities.

PORTFOLIO ANALYSIS

For the period ended 30th April 2002
Sector                                          Valuation                  % of Total
                                                                               Assets
                                                    £
Cyclical Services                                  10,312,135                    15.1
Financials                                         19,287,617                    28.2
Non Cyclical Services                               5,838,310                     8.5
Non Cyclical Consumer Goods                        11,261,592                    16.5
Resources                                          10,194,270                    14.9
Information Technology                                227,106                     0.3
Utilities                                           4,090,400                     6.0
Basic Industries                                    4,264,674                     6.3
General Industrials                                   826,056                     1.2
Net Current Assets                                  2,046,729                     3.0
                                                   68,348,889                   100.0





Note 1

The revenue column of this statement is the profit and loss account of the
Company.

All revenue and capital items derive from continuing operations. No operations
were acquired or discontinued in the period.

Note 2

The Statement of Total Return, Net Assets Statement and Cash Flow for the period
from 29th May to 12th December 2001 have been extracted from the published
accounts of the Company at that date which have been delivered to the Registrar
of Companies. The Auditors' opinion on those accounts was unqualified and did
not contain a statement under Section 237 (2) or (3) of the Companies Act 1985.

The Interim Report will be sent to Shareholders shortly and made available to
the public at the Registered Office of the Company, 10 Fenchurch Street, London
EC3M 3LB.





For further information, please contact:-

Dresdner RCM Global Investors (UK) Ltd

Tessa Murray, Head of Corporate Communications

Tel: [phone]

OR

Dresdner RCM Global Investors (UK) Ltd

Simon White, Head of Investment Trusts

Tel: [phone]



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