Wragge & Co LLP has been appointed to advise United Biscuits (UB) following a competitive pitch process. A team led by real estate partner John Burns has won a full-service panel appointment.

John Burns said: "This is a great win for us. UB is a market-leading company boasting big-name brands like McVities and Jacob's. With strong expertise in Intellectual Property (IP), antitrust, brands and the food sector, we are looking forward to helping UB continue successfully to grow its business and also to becoming an important part of the UB team."

The core Wragge & Co team comprised real estate, corporate, antitrust and dispute resolution partners John Burns, Richard Haywood, Bernardine Adkins, Andrew Smith and IP and antitrust associates Kate Swaine and Kate Newton. The team will work alongside UB's in-house team led by company secretary and director of legal affairs Mark Oldham and head of corporate legal affairs Simon Rose.

Simon Rose said: "We regularly review our external legal providers to ensure we have appropriate external legal advisers available to support the needs of the business. We were very impressed by all the firms we met through our tender process but Wragge & Co, Freshfields and Nabarro were particularly strong and, we feel, will offer us a range of expertise for us to call upon and satisfy all our specialist legal requirements."

UB is a leading European manufacturer of biscuits and snacks. It owns big-name brands such as Hula Hoops, KP and McCoys. The company's headquarters are in Hayes, Middlesex. The company's main UK distribution centre is at Ashby-de-la-Zouch, where it also has a factory manufacturing KP Snacks.

Wragge & Co is a major UK commercial law firm advising FTSE 350 companies, government departments and other public sector bodies, and international blue-chip businesses. So far in 2007, the firm has won a number of lead role appointments. These include becoming Birds Eye's preferred legal advisers, being appointed to the John Lewis Partnership's legal panel and winning a place on OGCbuying.solutions' Catalist Legal Services Framework Agreement.

A dedicated focus on the food and drink sector ensures clients benefit from high quality legal advice and industry experience. Clients include Birds Eye and HJ Heinz.

Notes to Editors

UB is a leading manufacturer and marketer of biscuits in the UK, The Netherlands, France, Belgium and Ireland. In the UK, UB is a leading manufacturer and marketer of packaged nuts, savoury snacks and crisps. UB manufactures and markets a wide range of household name products in the UK and continental Western Europe. Branded products account for almost 90% of sales in 2006.

Among UB's popular brand names are McVitie's, Penguin, go ahead!, McVitie's Jaffa Cakes, Jacob's, Jacob's Cream Crackers, Twiglets, Hula Hoops, Skips, Mini Cheddars, McCoy's, Phileas Fogg and KP Nuts in the UK and BN, Delacre, Verkade and Sultana in Continental Europe. McVitie's is among the best known brands in the UK.

UB owns and operates 15 manufacturing facilities of which 11 are in the UK and employs over 9,000 people of whom over 7,500 work in the UK.

UB media contact
Alexandra Chilvers: Media Relations Manager, +44 (0)20 7234 5702.

---

For further information about this press release, contact Kathryn Hobbs on +44 (0)121 213 2397, Alexa Highfield on +44 (0)121 213 2396 or Michelle Dolphin on +44 (0)121 213 2369

This press release may contain information of general interest about current legal issues, but does not give legal advice.