Holding(s) in Company

Ashtead Group PLC
09 December 2003


Ashtead Group plc

Ordinary Shares of 10p

RNS No: 105383





The Company has been advised today by Schroder Investment Management Limited
(SIML) that Schroder interests manage a total of 35,625,394 shares in the
Company on a discretionary basis for clients under investment management
agreements as follows:

 1.  Managed by SIML
     Registered or to be registered in the names other than          4,000,000
     Schroder Nominees Ltd

 2.  Managed in unit trusts by Schroder Unit Trusts Ltd and         31,625,394
     registered in the name of Chase Nominees Ltd
                                                                    ----------
                                                                    35,625,394
                                                                    ==========

The above holding represents 10.94% of the Company's issued share capital of
325,655,164 ordinary shares and is a reduction of 0.08% in SIML's interest in
the Company since the report of May 2003.







                      This information is provided by RNS
            The company news service from the London Stock Exchange