Angelica Announces Acquisition of Golden State Laundry Facilities; Acquisition Strengthens Northern California Market Presence.

ST. LOUIS -- Angelica Corporation (NYSE: AGL), a leading provider of healthcare linen management services, announced today that it has signed an agreement to purchase the healthcare laundry operations and customer contracts of Golden State Services in Northern California. The acquired business, which includes plants in Sacramento, CA and Turlock, CA, represents approximately $20 million in annual revenues. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed. Angelica expects to close the transaction before calendar year end.

Commenting on the acquisition, Steve O'Hara, Angelica's President and CEO, noted, "We are delighted to add the Golden State laundries in Sacramento and Turlock and their customers to the Angelica family. With our existing plants in Fresno, Stockton, Antioch and Vallejo, California, the addition of these two facilities provides comprehensive coverage of Northern California with back-up capacity to meet our customers' needs. We're especially grateful that Golden States' current President, Phil Foussard and Chief Operating Officer, Tim Montague, have agreed to work with and advise Angelica for three years to insure a seamless transition."

Mr. O'Hara added, "As the leading linen supplier to the healthcare industry we will continue to evaluate other growth opportunities in the United States and we expect to announce additional acquisitions in the near future."

Angelica expects to announce its fiscal year 2004 third quarter results following the close of business November 30, 2004. Angelica Corporation will have a conference call on December 1, 2004, at 10:00 a.m. CST (11:00 a.m. EST) to discuss its third quarter results, as well as answer questions on the Golden State acquisition. The conference call will be broadcast live over the internet at http://www.angelica.com and will be archived online approximately one hour after completion of the call. Participating in the call will be Steve O'Hara, President & CEO, and Jim Shaffer, Chief Financial Officer. A telephone replay of the call will be available for two weeks by calling 800/475-6701 and using the passcode 758080.

Angelica Corporation, traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol AGL, is a leading provider of linen management services to the U.S. healthcare market.

Forward-Looking Statements

Any forward-looking statements made in this document reflect the Company's current views with respect to future events and financial performance and are made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such statements are subject to certain risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results to differ materially from those set forth in these statements. These potential risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, competitive and general economic conditions, the ability to retain current customers and to add new customers in competitive market environments, competitive pricing in the marketplace, delays in the shipment of orders, availability of labor at appropriate rates, availability and cost of energy and water supplies, the cost of workers' compensation and healthcare benefits, the ability to attract and retain key personnel, the ability of the Company to recover its seller note and avoid future lease obligations as part of its sale of Life Uniform, the ability of the Company to accomplish its strategy of redirecting its resources to its healthcare linen management business in a timely and financially advantageous manner, unusual or unexpected cash needs for operations or capital transactions, the effectiveness of certain expense reduction initiatives, the ability to obtain financing in required amounts and at appropriate rates, the ability to identify, negotiate, fund,consummate and integrate acquisitions, and other factors which may be identified in the Company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.