Oxford Instruments plc has been notified today, pursuant to Section 198 of the
Companies Act 1985 (for the purposes of Section 208 and 209 of the Act), that
HBOS plc and its subsidiaries have a material interest of 1,906,227 Ordinary �
0.05p shares in our Company, which represents 3.977% of the shares in issue.

The shares to which this notification relates are registered as follows:

No of Shares       Fund                      Registered Holder               
                                                                             
684,000       SJP RF32        HSBC Global Custody Nominees (UK) Ltd a/c      
                              872859                                         
                                                                             
438,227       SJP RF42        HSBC Global Custody Nominees (UK) Ltd a/c      
                              872860                                         
                                                                             
119,000       SJPI RF59       HSBC Global Custody Nominees (UK) Ltd a/c      
                              823861                                         
                                                                             
665,000       SJPI RF62       HSBC Global Custody Nominees (UK) Ltd a/c      
                              823770                                         



END