Company Secretary Change

Wolseley PLC
1 July 2002



                                                                     1 July 2002

                                  NEWS RELEASE


                                  Wolseley plc

                      Appointment of new Company Secretary


Wolseley plc, the world's largest specialist trade distributor of heating and
plumbing products, is pleased to announce that Mark White has joined the Group
as Company Secretary reporting to Charles Banks, Group Chief Executive.  He will
be based in the corporate office in Reading, Berkshire and will succeed David
Branson, who retires from the Group after 20 years as Company Secretary.

Mark joins the Group from Enterprise Oil (now part of the Royal Dutch Shell
Group), which he joined in 1999, before being appointed Company Secretary in
March 2001.   Prior to that he spent 6 years as Company Secretary at Rotork plc,
a manufacturer of valve systems and related products worldwide.  He was admitted
as a solicitor in 1985 and spent 8 years at Frere Cholmeley, which merged with
Eversheds, one of the largest law firms in the world.


                                      Ends


Further enquiries:

Wolseley plc             Jacqueline Sinclair-Brown
                         Director of Corporate Communications
                         Tel: [phone]

Brunswick Group          Sophie Fitton
                         Tel: [phone]



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