Director/PDMR Shareholding

ASHTEAD GROUP PLC                               

Ashtead Group plc announces that on 14 October 2008 it made the annual awards
for 2008 to 122 senior executives under its Performance Share Plan (`PSP').

Awards under the PSP comprise the conditional right to receive ordinary shares
of 10p each which normally vest on the third anniversary of grant subject to
continued employment and the meeting of challenging Total Shareholder Return
and Earnings Per Share targets established by the Remuneration Committee. The
company intends to utilise existing shares held by the Company's Employee Share
Ownership Trust to fulfil any obligation to employees which may arise in
October 2011.

Included within the awards made are awards as follows to the executive
directors of Ashtead Group plc:

Director                                   Number of                Percentage
                                      Shares Covered                 of Issued
                                            By Award             Share Capital
                                                                              
Geoff Drabble                              1,194,760                     0.23%
                                                                              
Sat Dhaiwal                                  384,279                     0.07%
                                                                              
Cliff Miller                                 528,869                     0.10%
                                                                              
Ian Robson                                   572,052                     0.11%

The exercise price for the above awards is £1 for all the ordinary shares to
which the award relates. No consideration was paid for the grant of any of
these awards.


Contacts:

Chris Cole                Non-executive Chairman     020 7299 5562            
                                                                              
Geoff Drabble             Chief Executive            020 7726 9700