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£87 million spent on five acquisitions including Ferguson’s first entry into New York City

11 September 2007

Wolseley plc, the world’s largest specialist trade distributor of plumbing and heating products to professional contractors and a leading supplier of building materials, announced today five bolt on acquisitions for an aggregate consideration of £87 million. In a full year, these bolt-on acquisitions are expected to add approximately £110 million to total revenue. Goodwill and intangible assets related to these acquisitions is estimated to be around £52 million.

Details of the latest acquisitions are as follows:

North America

On 6 August 2007, Stock Building Supply (“Stock”) acquired certain assets of ProSource Building Supply, Ltd (“ProSource”) from Cary Miles and Tracy Manes. ProSource is a construction services business supplying primarily commercial doors, trim, hardwood, related speciality products and installation services operating from two facilities in Houston, Texas. In the year ended 31 December 2006, ProSource had revenue of $17.2 million (£8.5 million) and gross assets of $3.2 million (£1.6 million) at that date. This acquisition is in line with Stock’s strategy to expand its presence in the commercial and industrial market.

On 13 August 2007, Ferguson acquired Western Air Systems & Controls, Inc. (“Western Air”) from Glenn Woodward. Western Air is the exclusive Trane HVAC distributor for the states of California (excluding the San Francisco Bay area) and Nevada, operating from two facilities in California and one in Nevada. In the year ended 31 December 2006, Western Air had revenue of $59.6 million (£29.6 million) and gross assets of $13.5 million (£6.7 million) at that date.

On 27 August 2007, Ferguson acquired Davidson Pipe Company, Inc. (“Davidson”) from the Davidson and Krueger families and trustees. Davidson is a pipes, valves and fittings (PVF) distributor supplying the New York metropolitan market. In the year ended 30 September 2006, Davidson had revenue of $125.8 million (£62.6 million) and gross assets of $49.8 million (£24.8 million) at that date.

Europe

On 24 August 2007, Wolseley UK acquired T&R Electrical Wholesalers Ltd (“T&R”) from the Bissix family. T&R is an electrical wholesaler, serving public and electrical contractors in the residential, commercial and industrial sectors, operating from four sites in West London. T&R will give Wolseley UK’s existing electrical distribution brand, Electric Center, additional coverage in an area where it is currently under represented. In the year ended 30 June 2007, T&R had revenue of £9.5 million and gross assets of £1.6 million at that date.

On 16 August 2007, DT Group acquired Proaktiv Bygglogistik i Stockholm AB ("PBS") from Michael Palmlöf AB, Mikael Brohäll, Pia Svensson, Fredrik Palmlöf, Jan Birkebo and Christer Gustavsson. PBS is a newly formed building materials company, established by experienced industry professionals, based southwest of Stockholm.

The divisional split of the total acquisition spend to date for the year ending 31 July 2008 is:

Chip Hornsby, Group Chief Executive of Wolseley said:

“I am delighted that we have finally been able to enter the New York industrial and commercial market and complete four further acquisitions towards our target for bolt-ons of £450 million for the year to 31 July 2008. They are excellent businesses that broaden our product and geographic coverage and support our strategy of growing the business through acquisition and organic growth.”

Enquiries:

Guy Stainer +44 118 929 8744
Group Investor Relations Director +44 7739 778187

John English      +1 513 771 9000
Vice President, Investor Relations, North America +1 513 328 4900

Brunswick      +44 20 7404 5959
Andrew Fenwick
Sophie Brand

Exchange Rates

The following exchange rate has been used for the acquisitions noted above:
£1 = $2.01, £1 = SEK13.85

Certain statements included in this announcement may be forward-looking and may involve risks, assumptions and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by the forward looking statements. Forward-looking statements include, without limitation, projections relating to results of operations and financial conditions and the Company’s plans and objectives for future operations including, without limitation, discussions of the Company’s business and financial plans, expected future revenues and expenditures, investments and disposals, risks associated with changes in economic conditions, the strength of the plumbing and heating and building materials market in North America and Europe, fluctuations in product prices and changes in exchange and interest rates. All forward-looking statements in this respect are based upon information known to the Company on the date of this announcement. The Company undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. It is not reasonably possible to itemise all of the many factors and events that could cause the Company’s forward-looking statements to be incorrect or that could otherwise have a material adverse effect on the future operations or results of the Company.

Notes to Editors

Wolseley plc is the world's largest specialist trade distributor of plumbing and heating products to professional contractors and a leading supplier of building materials in North America, the UK and Continental Europe. Group revenue for the year ended 31 July 2006 was approximately £14.2 billion and operating profit, before amortisation of acquired intangibles, was £882 million. Wolseley has around 79,000 employees operating in 28 countries namely: UK, USA, France, Canada, Ireland, Italy, The Netherlands, Switzerland, Austria, Czech Republic, Hungary, Belgium, Luxembourg, Denmark, Sweden, Finland, Norway, Slovak Republic, Poland, Romania, Croatia, San Marino, Panama, Puerto Rico, Trinidad & Tobago, Mexico, Barbados and Greenland. Wolseley is listed on the London and New York Stock Exchanges (LSE: WOS, NYSE: WOS) and is in the FTSE 100 index of listed companies.

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