Wellcome Trust investment portfolio update

7 August 2008

Following today's press speculation, the Wellcome Trust confirms that it has acquired 39.35m shares equivalent to 2.5 per cent of the issued share capital of Marks and Spencer in recent weeks.

The Wellcome Trust is an independent charity funding research to improve human and animal health. Established in 1936 and with an endowment of around £15 billion, it is the UK's largest non-governmental source of funds for biomedical research and this investment is part of Wellcome Trust's long-term investment portfolio.

Contact

Katrina Nevin-Ridley
Head of Media Relations
Wellcome Trust
T +44 (0)20 7611 8540
E k.nevin-ridley@wellcome.ac.uk

Notes for editors

1. The Wellcome Trust is the largest charity in the UK. It funds innovative biomedical research, in the UK and internationally, spending over £600 million each year to support the brightest scientists with the best ideas. The Wellcome Trust supports public debate about biomedical research and its impact on health and wellbeing.