Angelica Announces Completion of Duke Health System Transaction and Conversion of Two On-Premise Laundry Facilities.

Business Editors

ST. LOUIS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--April 22, 2004

Angelica Corporation (NYSE: AGL), a leading provider of textile rental and healthcare linen management services, announced today that it has closed the transaction for the previously announced acquisition of the Duke University Health System laundry in Durham, NC. The Duke laundry acquisition represents an example of a prestigious hospital system outsourcing its linen management requirements to Angelica Textile Services and redirecting its resources to providing quality healthcare.

Angelica also acquired selected assets of two on-premise laundry (OPL) facilities at hospitals located in the Southern region of the U.S. The acquired assets include the laundry equipment, linens and carts of hospitals in Texas and Georgia. Linen management services for these hospitals will now be provided by Angelica Textile Services under multiple-year service agreements.

Commenting on the announcement, Steve O'Hara, President and CEO of Angelica said, "We are pleased that these reputable hospitals have chosen to outsource their linen management services to Angelica. Our largest competitor across the U.S. is hospitals with their own laundry facilities, which comprises about 35 percent of the total market. As a result of our superior customer service and competitive pricing, hospitals can confidently convert their on-premise facilities and focus instead on providing quality healthcare services. We believe conversion of additional OPL facilities offers us significant long-term growth potential. As more hospitals realize the cost and efficiency benefits of outsourcing the linen management function, Angelica will continue to capitalize on the many opportunities to expand into the OPL market."

Angelica Corporation, traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol AGL, is a leading provider of textile rental and linen management services to the U.S. healthcare market. The Company also operates a national chain of retail healthcare uniform and shoe stores with a fully-integrated catalogue and e-commerce operation as a discontinued operation pending sale of this division.

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, actual charges to the restructuring reserve significantly different from estimated charges, disruption to the Company's operations by union activities, the ability of the Company to sell the Life Uniform segment under financial terms and conditions currently anticipated, the ability of the Company to accomplish its strategy of re-directing 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 and integrate acquisitions, and other factors which may be identified in the Company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.