Holding in Company

Smiths Group PLC
11 January 2001


Schedule 10 - Notification of Major Interests in Shares

1   Name of company:
Smiths Group plc

2   Name of shareholder having a major interest:
Capital Guardian Trust Company

3   Please state whether notification indicates that it is in respect of
holding of the shareholder named in 2 above or in respect of a non-beneficial
interest or in the case of an individual holder if it is a holding of that
person's spouse or children under the age of 18:
Notification by The Capital Group Companies, Inc. on behalf of Capital
Guardian Trust Company, in respect of funds managed on behalf of investment
clients.

4   Name of registered holder(s) and, if more than one holder, the number of
shares held by each of them:
Shareholder                                                  Shares

State Street Nominees Limited                               2999989
Bank of New York Nominees Limited                            436118
Chase Nominees Limited                                      8783873
BT Globenet Nominees Limited                                  13846
Midland Bank plc                                            4264288
Bankers Trust                                               1701080
Barclays Bank                                                364780
Citibank London                                              363400
Nortrust Nominees Limited                                   2680148
Royal Bank of Scotland                                         5612
National Westminster Bank                                       900
Citibank NA, Toronto                                          49680
ROY Nominees Limited                                           9500


5   Number of shares/amount of stock acquired:
Not disclosed

6   Percentage of issued class:
N/A

7   Number of shares/amount of stock disposed:
Not disclosed

8   Percentage of issued class:
N/A

9   Class of security:
Ordinary shares of 25p

10  Date of transaction:
Not disclosed

11  Date company informed:
10 January 2001

12  Total holding following this notification:
21673214 shares

13  Total percentage holding of issued class following this notification:
3.91%

14  Contact name for queries:
Neil Burdett

15 Contact telephone number:
020 8457 8229

16  Name of company official responsible for making notification:
Neil Burdett

17  Date of notification:
11 January 2001


Additional Information:

Capital Guardian Trust Company ('Capital Guardian') is one of the affiliates
of The Capital Group Companies, Inc. ('Capital Group').  On 14 December 2000,
Capital Group notified the Company that its affiliates were, in aggregate,
interested in 7.77% of the Company's share capital.  

This notification relates to the reduction in the percentage interest of
Capital Guardian only, from 4.02% (on 14 December 2000) to 3.91% of the
Company's issued share capital.  

Capital Group's affiliates, in aggregate, presently have interests over 7.56%
of the Company's issued share capital.