ARP Ashcourt Rowan

RNS No 7076n
AMCO CORPORATION PLC
31 August 1999

              TOLENT PLC ("Tolent or "the Group")
          (The Building and Civil Engineering Group)
                               
     Demerger from Amco Corporation plc ("Amco") completed
                               
Dealings commence tomorrow on The Alternative Investment Market
                            ("Aim")
                               
        Agreement in principle for a major new contract
                               
                       Healthy workload

At  the  Extraordinary General Meeting of Amco held in Rotherham
today,  all  resolutions, including the demerger of Tolent  from
Amco,  were  passed.  Dealings in Tolent are due to commence  on
AIM at 9.00 am tomorrow (1 September 1999).

Stuart Gordon, the Chairman, made the following comments:

"In  the  last  three  years Tolent has gone  from  strength  to
strength  with turnover and profits increasing each  year  since
1996.   The  interim  results,  which  were  published  in   the
prospectus, showed that this growth is continuing.

"Having  expanded  from  its  Head  Office  base  in  Gateshead,
Tyneside,  Tolent now carries out a wide range  of  construction
work  in both the public and private sectors on a national basis
from offices in Middlesbrough, Wakefield, Manchester and London.

"Agreement  in principle has been received for the  major  new
contract  to  fit  out a London office building  which  is  in
excess  of  500,000  square  foot.   This  contract  will   be
undertaken with another contractor as a joint venture project.

"The second half of the year has started strongly with a healthy
workload and a high level of tender enquiries.  The Group has an
excellent  management team and I am confident that  Tolent  will
grow rapidly in the years ahead."

For further information:

Tolent PLC
Stuart Gordon (Chairman)                         01709 828218
Ian Swire (Finance Director)                     01709 828218

Bell Lawrie Wise Speke
Mark Brady / Keith Salisbury                     0161 839 4222

Binns & Co Public Relations
Brian Coleman-Smith / Simon Ellis / Neil Camp    0171 786 9600


BACKGROUND NOTE:

TRADING  RECORD (extracted from the Prospectus dated 6  August
1999)

The trading record of the Tolent Group for the three financial
years and six months ended 30 June 1999 is summarised below.

                        Year ended 31 December   6 months
                              (Audited)          ended
                                                 30 June
                                                 (Unaudited)
                                                 
                         1996     1997      1998        1999
                        #'000    #'000     #'000       #'000
                                                            
Turnover                39,466  52,955    77,537      39,116
Operating (loss) /                                          
profit                    (68)     418     1,447       1,006
(Loss) / profit                                             
before taxation          (277)     154     1,364         906

Trading  in the three years and the six months ended  30  June
1999  has seen a return to increasing underlying profitability
and   continued  growth  in  turnover.   Tender  and  contract
management controls have improved over this period, as has the
proportion  of  negotiated  tender,  rather  than  competitive
tender, work.

END

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