Board Appointment

Home Retail Group Plc
12 December 2006

12 December 2006


                             Home Retail Group plc

                               Board Appointment


Home Retail Group plc, the UK's leading home and general merchandise retailer,
announces that Penny Hughes joined its Board on 11 December 2006 as a
non-executive director.


Oliver Stocken, Chairman of Home Retail Group, said: 'I am very pleased to
welcome Penny to Home Retail Group. Her considerable experience in retail and
consumer marketing and as a non-executive director make her a strong addition to
our Board.'


Penny Hughes said: 'I am delighted to become a non-executive director of Home
Retail Group. It is a very exciting time to be joining as it establishes itself
as an independent company. Home Retail Group has two very strong businesses
which, I believe, offer great potential for future growth.'


Penny Hughes is a non-executive director of Reuters Group PLC, GAP Inc and
Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken.


In accordance with the Listing Rules, Home Retail Group confirms that there are
no matters relating to Penny Hughes that would require disclosure under LR
9.6.13R (2) to LR 9.6.13R (6).


Enquiries:


Home Retail Group     Steve O'Brien         01908 296334

Finsbury              Alice Macandrew       020 7251 3801


                                     -ENDS-

Notes to Editors:


Penny Hughes spent 10 years with Coca Cola, initially as Marketing Director then
rising to become President, Coca Cola UK and Ireland. Over the last 10 years,
Penny has gained experience as a non-executive director on the Boards of a
number of significant international businesses including Vodafone, Trinity
Mirror and Body Shop. Currently, she serves on the Board at Reuters, the Board
of GAP Inc, where she is the first non-American Board Director and the Board of
Swedish bank Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken. She is also a member of the Advisory
Board of Bridgepoint Venture Capital and President of the Advertising
Association. Penny has a BSc in Chemistry from Sheffield University.



About Home Retail Group


Home Retail Group is the UK's leading home and general merchandise retailer with
sales of over £5.5 billion in the last financial year. It sells products under
two distinctive and complementary retail brands, Argos and Homebase.


Argos is a unique retailer recognised for choice, value and convenience. It
sells over 17,000 general merchandise products for the home through its network
of 670 stores, online and over the phone. Argos' internet site, www.argos.co.uk,
is the second most popular internet retail site in the UK.


Homebase is the UK's second largest home improvement retailer and is recognised
for choice, style and customer service across the wider home enhancement market.
It has more than 300 large, out of town stores, which sell over 30,000 products,
as well as a growing internet offering at www.homebase.co.uk.


Argos and Homebase are supported by an in-house financial services business,
Financial Services, which provides a range of credit and insurance products to
their customers through all customer-facing channels of stores, online and over
the phone. Financial Services is one of the largest store card providers in the
UK, having over one million active store card customers



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