Short Selling Disclosure

Short Selling Disclosure

Fortelus Capital Management LLP

Form TR-4. FSA Version 2.0 September 2008

TR-41 :

Â

Disclosure of Short Position relating to UK Financial Sector Company2

1. Full name of person(s) holding the disclosable short position3 :	Â	Fortelus Special Situations Master Fund Ltd
2: Name of the issuer of the relevant securities		Provident Financial Plc
3: Disclosable short position4		1.53%
4. Date that disclosable short position was held		21-Feb-2011

¹ This form, or the information contained within it, should be disclosed via an RIS using the short code SSD.

² This form relates to the disclosure of short positions in compliance with the FSA’s Short Selling (NO2) Instrument 2008 and the related FAQ document on the FSA's website.

³ Specify the holder of the net short position. The naming of nominees or vehicle companies is insufficient. In the case of an investment manager or authorised fund manager managing assets on behalf of a client, the disclosure obligation applies at the level of both the entity to which MAR 1.9.2C applies and at the level of the investment manager or authorised fund manager. The investment manager or authorised fund manager may make a net short position disclosure on behalf of its client. In respect of itself, the investment manager or authorised fund manager is required to disclose its aggregate net short position across all of the funds it manages on a discretionary basis.

Where a disclosure by an investment manager or authorised fund manager is the same as that being made for its client/fund/sub-fund, it is permitted to make a single disclosure provided that the disclosure makes it clear that it applies to both parties. See FAQ document for further details.

⁴ Figure to be expressed as a percentage of issued share capital. Disclosable short position is defined in the Glossary of Definitions in the FSA Handbook. Positions must be disclosed on a net basis of all holdings. All financial instruments that represent a direct or indirect economic interest in the relevant issuer must be included within such holdings.