London, March 2, 2004 – BTG (LSE: BGC), the global technology commercialisation company, announces that VisionTec, the contact lens technology company it helped create in 2001 has been acquired by US-based contact lens retailer, 1-800 CONTACTS Inc. (NASDAQ: CTAC).

For BTG, the transaction represents a significant return on its investment of £600,000 over a relatively short period of time. 1-800 CONTACTS paid for this acquisition partly in cash and partly in shares, and has also agreed to pay a per unit royalty for a period of 10 years to the former shareholders. BTG has been the seed investor in VisionTec since 2001 and has also provided IP and commercial support throughout the life of the company. BTG will continue to receive royalties from sales of VisionTec’s disposable contact lenses for a ten year period.

VisionTec, which will shortly be renamed Clearlab UK Limited, manufactures low-cost daily disposable contact lenses. VisionTec’s success is based on a spin moulding manufacturing process in which the lens sits in a mould that becomes the final packaging.

Anthony V. Lando, BTG’s Chief Operating Officer, said: “This disposal underlines BTG’s ability to identify good early stage opportunities and help to create successful businesses from technologies with potential. We believe our involvement has added substantial value and are pleased to have made a significant return on our investment.”

Dr Alan Cooke, Managing Director of VisionTec, commented: “BTG played an invaluable role in the creation and growth of VisionTec This deal will now enable VisionTec’s technology to be rapidly commercialised through the integration into Clearlab, a subsidiary of 1-800 CONTACTS, which provides access to markets as well as financial support.”

Contact
BTG
Peter Beynon
+44 (0)20 7575 1654
peter.beynon@btgplc.com

Clearlab UK Ltd
Alan Cooke/Andrew Smith
+44 (0)17 5270 0910

Financial Dynamics
Ben Atwell
+44 (0)20 7269 7242

About BTG
BTG finds, develops and commercialises emerging technologies in the life and physical sciences. These innovations are protected by a strong portfolio of intellectual property that BTG develops and enhances. BTG then captures the value in these technologies through licensing and venturing activities. From the origins of its business in 1949, BTG has commercialised major innovations such as Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI), recombinant factor IX blood-clotting protein, Campath® (alemtuzumab) and Multilevel Cell (MLC) memory. BTG is quoted on the London Stock Exchange under the symbol “BGC” and operates through wholly owned subsidiaries, BTG International Ltd. and BTG International Inc. in the UK and USA, respectively. Further information on BTG can be found at www.btgplc.com.

About 1-800 CONTACTS Inc
1-800 CONTACTS offers consumers an attractive alternative for obtaining replacement contact lenses in terms of convenience, price and speed of delivery. Through its easy-to-remember, toll-free telephone number, "1-800 CONTACTS" (1-800-266-8228), and its Internet web site, www.contacts.com, the Company sells all of the popular brands of contact lenses. 1-800 CONTACTS offers products at competitive prices, while delivering a high level of customer service.