Director Shareholding

Ashtead Group PLC
6 August 2002



Ashtead Group plc
Ordinary Shares of 10p

Ashtead Group plc announces that, on 29 July 2002, it granted an award over 
235,292 10p Ordinary Shares in the Company under its Investment Incentive Plan 
(the 'IIP') to Stuart Ian Robson, a director of the Company.

The total of 235,292 shares comprises

(I)     an Investment Award of 58,823 shares which takes into account the part 
        of the bonus amounting to £30,000 which Mr. Robson would have received 
        for the Company's financial year ended 30 April 2002 but for his prior 
        waiver of this part of his entitlement. These shares can only be 
        forfeited by Mr Robson in certain circumstances set out in the rules of 
        the IIP; and

(ii)    a Matching Award of 176,469 shares which are conditionally owned by 
        Mr Robson subject to the Group achieving certain performance targets in 
        the period to 2005 when the shares will vest unconditionally.

The shares comprised in the Investment Award and the Matching Award will be 
transferred to Mr. Robson. Following the transfer Mr Robson's interests in the 
ordinary share capital of the Company will be

(1) 11,000 shares, representing 0.03% of the Company's issued ordinary share 
    capital, owned unconditionally;

(2) 153,644 shares, representing 0.47% of the Company's issued ordinary share 
    capital, held as investment shares under the IIP;

(3) 649,576 shares, representing 2.00% of the Company's issued ordinary share 
    capital, held as matching shares conditional upon the achievement of the 
    performance targets required by the Rules of the IIP, and

(4) options over a total of 755,000 shares under the Company's discretionary 
    share option schemes at exercise prices ranging from 41.50p to 125.00p per 
    share exercisable over a period from August 2003 to February 2012 and over 
    39,783 shares under the Company's savings related share option scheme at an 
    exercise price of 41.60p per share exercisable in the period from April 2007 
    to September 2007.




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