FARNELL AND THOMAS LIMITED(FRT)

company deregistered as of today

a loss declaration has been issued and the capital loss can therefore be claimed in the financial year the declaration is issued

delisted at the entity's request following termination of the Deed of Company Arrangement

creditors have resolved that the Deed of Company Arrangement be terminated and the company wound up - it will be removed from ASX listing on 23 August 2005

there are no developments (the shell of the company is not for sale)

administrators report there is no change from the situation covered by our note of 28 January 2005

administrators advise that the investor who is interested in recapitalising the company is having difficulties obtaining the necessary approvals to facilitate the re-listing - the administrators are working through the issues

administrators confirm, as previously advised, that they have entered into an agreement with a private investor to recapitalise the company - this investor is presently undertaking the necessary steps to facilitate the recapitalisation, and a meeting of shareholders will be held in due course

administrators confirm the shell is not for sale as they have already entered into an agreement with another party - they anticipate a meeting of creditors will be called over the coming week to consider some minor amendments to the DOCA which will allow the shell sale to proceed

administrators advise the Farnell & Thomas shell is "not presently available for sale"

administrators report no further developments at this stage - there is interest in the shell, however actually completing the transaction is proving difficult

there have been no further developments - the administrators are still working with someone with the potential to recapitalize the company, however it is proving to be a time consuming exercise

administrators report that they are still investigating the best method by which the company's capital can be restructured

seeking update

the company has not paid its annual listing fee - it will be removed from the official list on 1 September 2003 if it does not pay the fee by Friday Aug 29

administrators advise they are considering the sale of the shell to persons interested in backdoor listing the entity - they believe that this process will take several months before they know conclusively whether the shell is suitable and if indeed there are any potential candidates willing to proceed with it

prior to consideration of any proposal to regain quotation the administrators have some subsidiaries to liquidate, outstanding insurance claims to resolve and the sale of a parcel of land in Brisbane to be settled

administrator's intention is to facilitate the requotation of the company's shares using the present shell - this should take place early in 2003

business sale agreement completed with Metlcast Pty Ltd for the sale of the assets and the business of Southpac Metals Manufacturing Pty Ltd

creditors resolve to place Southpac Metals Manufacturing Pty Ltd into liquidation and F & T execute a Deed of Company Arrangement

administrator recommends company execute a Deed of Company Arrangement to facilitate the sale of the business and the assets including the listed shell

liquidator of the Australian Cutting Systems group of companies enters into heads of agreement to sell all of the businesses of Australian Cutting Systems

trading operations of the Australian Cutting Systems business in Brooklyn, Victoria closed today due to cash flow problems

company's shares suspended from quotation

M Mentha of Arthur Andersen appointed administrator

we understand that on or about this date the company consolidated its shares 1 for 4