Director Shareholding

Macfarlane Group PLC
27 March 2001

Macfarlane Group PLC

27 March 2001


Purchase of shares by the Trustees of Macfarlane Group PLC Employee Share
Ownership Trust T1079 (the 'Trust')


Macfarlane Group PLC announces that Orbis Trustees Guernsey Limited, the
Trustees of the Trust purchased 275,709 ordinary shares in Macfarlane Group
PLC (the 'Shares') at a price of 80 pence per share, on 27 March 2001.


The Trust allows senior executives, including the directors of Macfarlane
Group PLC (the 'Directors') to defer annual bonuses into the Trust which then
acquires Shares in Macfarlane Group PLC.


The Directors' beneficial interest in the Shares bought by the Trust today,
together with their resultant beneficial holdings are as follows:

Name        Interest in  Percentage of Share    Resultant  Percentage of Share
                  Trust              capital      Holding              capital
Iain D.          49,627                 0.04      281,627                 0.22
Duffin
Michael          24,813                 0.02    1,209,639                 0.96
Clark
John Love        22,332                 0.02       89,332                 0.07


Further awards to beneficiaries under the Scheme will be conditional upon
Macfarlane Group PLC achieving pre-determined performance criteria. The
Directors, being beneficiaries under the Scheme, as with other employees or
executives, have a potential interest in these further awards of Shares.




END