Performance at month end

Merrill Lynch UK Inv Tst PLC
12 September 2001


MONTHLY PERFORMANCE

MERRILL LYNCH UK INVESTMENT TRUST plc

All information is at 31 August 2001 and unaudited.

Performance at month end with net income reinvested
                              One    Three         One       Three        Five
                            month   months        year       years       years

Net asset value             -2.0%    -9.9%      -22.9%        0.8%       35.3%
Share price                 -2.6%   -12.6%      -16.9%       -6.5%       20.5%
FTSE All-Share Index        -2.3%    -7.2%      -17.3%       14.0%       54.0%

Sources: Merrill Lynch Investment Managers, Standard & Poor's Micropal

At month end

Net asset value*                                         995.42p
Share price:                                             892.50p
Discount:                                                10.3%
Total assets:                                            £178.7m
Net Yield:                                               3.4%
Gearing:                                                 28.3%
Effective gearing:                                       28.1%
Value of debt:                                           £39.5m
Ordinary shares in issue:                                14,093,562

(There were no share repurchases during the month)

*Includes current year net revenue of 7.70p.

UK Sectors                                                          % Portfolio

Financials                                                                 23.9
Cyclical Services                                                          22.3
Non-Cyclical Consumer Goods                                                16.2
Resources                                                                  15.0
Non-Cyclical Services                                                      10.3
Basic Industries                                                            6.5
Utilities                                                                   3.2
General Industrials                                                         3.1
Information Technology                                                      0.1
Net current liabilities                                                   (0.6)
Total                                                                     100.0


Ten Largest Equity Investments
Company
                                                                  % Investments

BP Amoco                                                                    8.8
Royal Bank of Scotland                                                      6.3
GlaxoSmithKline                                                             6.2
Barclays                                                                    5.5
Vodafone                                                                    5.2
AstraZeneca                                                                 5.1
British Telecom                                                             2.9
Shell Transport and Trading Co                                              2.7
Tesco                                                                       2.1
International Power                                                         2.1
Total                                                                      46.9


Update commentary

UK Stockmarket Review

The FTSE All Share Index slipped by a further 2.3% in August. Concerns that US
consumer confidence may be faltering and further negative corporate earnings
news flow prompted more selling, despite interest rate cuts and some more
encouraging economic news. Sentiment continues to rotate between fear and hope
as investors contrast the poor immediate term earnings environment with
expectations that global economic conditions are likely to improve as we enter
2002.

Fund Performance Review

The Net Asset Value (NAV) of Merrill Lynch UK Investment Trust plc
outperformed on a relative basis during August, falling by 2.0%.

MLIM's UK Specialist Equity Team maintain a slight defensive tilt in their
portfolios, while adding to cyclical exposure as valuations warrant. The Trust
is well represented in UK consumer demand-orientated businesses, such as
retailers and construction companies. This stance aided relative performance
in August.

AMEC and Balfour Beatty performed well, after suffering in July as a result of
adverse press concerning PFI and news of Laing's additional provisioning. We
had complemented our overweight position in building & construction companies
by adding to Hanson. This share and our other holdings in this area performed
strongly.

We were well represented in typically defensive sectors, such as
pharmaceuticals. Our favour for AstraZeneca over GlaxoSmithKline aided
relative performance, although it was our long held position in Amersham that
made the strongest contribution.

Our choice of shares within growth areas was beneficial. We maintained a focus
on large, relatively well funded telecoms companies, which aided relative
performance, while some previously de-rated holdings within media rose
strongly during the month. The Trust remains very lightly represented in
technology companies and exposure to the alternative telecoms carriers has
been reduced significantly.

Outlook

In the UK, unemployment remains low, house prices are firm and household
income growth is meaningful. This suggests to us that retail sales should
remain supported. As such, we expect the UK stockmarket to prove relatively
resilient in the face of continued pressure on corporate earnings in the US
and continental Europe. Our cyclical exposure is likely to be enhanced further
if signs of economic recovery reinforce our conviction regarding the prospects
for economic upturn into 2002.

Latest information is available by typing www.mlim.co.uk/its on the internet,
'MLIMINDEX' on Reuters, 'MLIM' on Bloomberg or '8800' on Topic 3 (ICV
terminal).

12 September 2001