Ecclesiastical Insurance Office PLC 13 April 2005 NOT FOR RELEASE, PUBLICATION OR DISTRIBUTION IN OR INTO THE UNITED STATES, CANADA, AUSTRALIA OR JAPAN 13 April 2005 Ecclesiastical Insurance Office plc Issue of Irredeemable Preference Shares Ecclesiastical Insurance Office plc (the "Company") announces the placing of 19,000,000 additional 8.625 per cent Non-Cumulative Irredeemable Preference Shares of £1 each ("Preference Shares"). These additional Preference Shares will from the date of their admission to listing and trading ("admission date") rank pari passu in all respects and be fungible with the Company's 41,250,000 existing listed Preference Shares, thereby increasing the number of issued and listed Preference Shares to 60,250,000. The additional 19,000,000 Preference Shares have been placed by JPMorgan Cazenove. Application will be made to the UK Listing Authority and the London Stock Exchange to list and trade the additional 19,000,000 Preference Shares, with an anticipated admission date of 26 April 2005. The additional Preference Shares will be issued at a price (which includes dividend accrued to the admission date) of £1.225 per £1 nominal, on the basis of the admission date stated above. Enquiries: George Prescott Ecclesiastical Insurance Office plc 01452 528533 Christopher Smith / Francis Burkitt JPMorgan Cazenove 0207 588 2828 END This announcement does not constitute, or form part of, any offer or invitation to sell or issue, or any solicitation of any offer to purchase or subscribe for, any Preference Shares, nor shall it (or any part of it) or the fact of its distribution, form the basis of, or be relied on in connection with, or act as any inducement to enter into, any contract therefor. This announcement is being directed solely at and may only be communicated to (i) persons who have professional experience in matters relating to investments falling within Article 19(5) of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (Financial Promotion) Order 2001, as amended (the Order) (ii) persons falling within Article 49(2)(a) to (d) of the Order and (iii) other persons to whom it may otherwise lawfully be communicated (all such persons together being referred to as "relevant persons"). This announcement must not be acted on or relied on by persons who are not relevant persons. Any investment or investment activity to which this announcement relates is available only to relevant persons and will be engaged in only with relevant persons. No reliance may be placed for any purpose whatsoever on the completeness, accuracy or fairness of the information contained in this announcement. No representation or warranty, express or implied, is made or given by or on behalf of the Company, JPMorgan Cazenove Limited (JPMorgan Cazenove) or any of their respective parent or subsidiary undertakings or the subsidiary undertakings of any such parent undertakings or any of such person's directors, officers or employees or any other person as to the accuracy, completeness or fairness of the information or opinions contained in this announcement and no responsibility or liability is accepted by any person for such information or opinions. This announcement is for distribution in the UK only and should not be distributed, published or reproduced in whole or in part or disclosed by recipients to any other person. The distribution of this announcement and the offering and sale of the Preference Shares in certain jurisdictions may be restricted by law and therefore persons into whose possession this announcement comes should inform themselves about and observe any such restrictions. Any failure to comply with these restrictions could result in a violation of the laws of such jurisdiction. This announcement does not constitute an offer of, or the solicitation of an offer to purchase or subscribe for, any Preference Shares to any person in any jurisdiction to whom or in which such an offer or solicitation is unlawful and, in particular, is not for distribution in or into Australia, Canada, Japan or the United States of America. JPMorgan Cazenove, which is regulated in the UK by the Financial Services Authority, is acting exclusively for the Company in relation to the Placing and is not advising any person or treating any person as its customer in relation to the Placing and is not advising any person or treating any person as its customer in relation to the matters referred to in this document and will not be responsible to anyone other than the Company for providing the protections afforded to customers of JPMorgan Cazenove or for affording advice on the contents of this document or otherwise in relation to the Placing. This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock Exchange