Re Joint Venture

Marks & Spencer Group PLC
18 April 2008



Issued: 18 April 2008


                Marks and Spencer Group plc and Reliance Retail
                        announce joint venture in India


Marks and Spencer Group plc (Marks & Spencer) announces an agreement to enter
into a joint venture with Reliance Retail, part of the Reliance Industries
Group, with the goal of establishing Marks & Spencer as a major retail brand in
India.

Subject to the satisfaction or waiver of certain conditions, including the
receipt of approval from the Foreign Investment Promotion Board of the
Government of India, Marks & Spencer will take a 51% interest in Marks and
Spencer Reliance India Pvt Ltd(1) with Reliance Retail taking the remaining 49%.

The value of the initial investment into the JV will be up to £29m (in cash or
in kind) between the parties, with both parties agreeing to provide further
funding in the future.

The new joint venture will have the right to operate Marks & Spencer stores in
India selling items such as women's, men's and children's clothing as well as
homewares. It will aim to open at least 50 new stores in India over the next
five years.  It is envisaged that Planet Retail, Marks & Spencer's existing
franchise partner in India, will continue as a franchisee in respect of the 14
existing franchise stores.

This announcement is part of Marks & Spencer's plans to grow its international
business to 15-20 per cent of Group revenues within the next five years.




Sir Stuart Rose, Chief Executive, Marks & Spencer said:

'India is a very exciting opportunity for Marks & Spencer and a market where
there is the potential for M&S to become a major retail brand. Reliance Retail
is the ideal partner for us to accelerate our expansion and create the
opportunity to open much bigger M&S stores. We have been very impressed by their
strength in technology, logistics and property and the speed with which they
have become a major player in India's retail scene.'



Mr. Mukesh Ambani, Chairman of Reliance Industries said:

'M&S is a very well respected brand globally. At Reliance, we have always
strongly believed in the power of the Indian consumer market. We are excited to
partner with M&S to combine Reliance's understanding of the Indian marketplace,
and its traditional strengths in the areas such as technology, infrastructure,
logistics and training with M&S's legendary retailing and product development
capabilities to deliver a delightful experience for Indian consumers.'

The Chief Executive Officer of Marks and Spencer Reliance India Pvt Ltd will be
Mr. Mark Ashman and Chief Financial Officer will be Mr. Jatin Luthra.



Mr. Carl Leaver, Director of International Business, Marks & Spencer said:

'There is already a strong demand for great quality, good value Marks & Spencer
products in India. Partnering with Reliance Retail will enable us to accelerate
our growth in this dynamic economy.  We intend to open bigger stores, selling a
wider range of products at lower prices, including a growing number of products
sourced from local suppliers. I would like to thank VP Sharma and the Planet
Retail team for their early vision in bringing Marks & Spencer to India and for
their ongoing support.'


                                     -Ends-







Notes to editors

(1) Marks and Spencer Reliance India Pvt Ltd is currently named Tapti Trading
Private Limited.

Marks & Spencer (M&S) is one of the UK's leading retailers, offering high
quality, great value clothing, as well as home products and outstanding quality
food. M&S employs over 75,000 people and has over 600 stores in the UK and over
275 stores in 39 territories around the world. Marks & Spencer's total Group
revenues for 2006/7 were £8.5bn.  In November 2007 at its interim results, Marks
& Spencer identified significant opportunities to grow its international
business under the leadership of Carl Leaver, its Director of International
Business, targeting a 15-20% contribution to its Group revenues within the next
five years.  At its third quarter sales update on 9 January, Marks & Spencer
announced sales in its international business were up 15.1% (13 weeks to 29
December 2007).

www.marksandspencer.com/thecompany.


Reliance Retail Limited (RRL), a subsidiary of Reliance Industries Limited
opened its first retail store in November 2006 and today operates over 500
stores in over 49 cities spanning over 3.5 million Sq ft.

RRL is a multi-format retailer that operates Reliance Fresh - a neighbourhood
store concept, Reliance Digital - a Consumer Durables and Information Technology
concept, Reliance Mart - a Hyper Market concept, Reliance Trends - an apparel
specialty concept, Reliance Wellness - a health, wellness & beauty concept ,
Reliance iStore- an Apple specialty store concept, Reliance Footprint -a
footwear concept, Reliance Jewels - a jewellery concept, Reliance Time-Out- a
books, music & entertainment concept, Reliance Super- a Minimart concept and
Reliance AutoZone - an automotive specialty concept.

Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) is India's largest private sector company on
all major financial parameters with turnover of Rs1,18,354 crore (US$ 27.23
billion), cash profit of Rs17,678 crore (US$ 4.07 billion), net profit of
Rs11,943 crore (US$ 2.75 billion) and net worth of Rs63, 967 crore  (US$ 14.72
billion) as of March 31, 2007.

RILis the first and only private sector company from India to feature in the
Fortune Global 500 list of 'World's Largest Corporations' and ranks amongst the
world's Top 200 companies in terms of profits. RIL is amongst the 25 fastest
climbers ranked by Fortune. RIL also features in the Forbes Global list of
world's 400 best big companies and in FT Global 500 list of world's largest
companies.




Contact details

M&S Corporate Press Office:         [phone]
Clair Foster                        [phone] / 07748 147 851
Dan Masser                          [phone] /07826 905220
Out of hours                        [phone]





M&S Press Office for Indian media:

Meenakshi Sachdev Varma            + 919 8105 12307
(Good Relations India)

M&S Investor Relations:
Amanda Mellor                      [phone]
Majda Rainer                       [phone]


Reliance Retail:
Manu Kapoor                        [phone]




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