Director Shareholding

Barclays PLC
02 March 2004




                                                                    2 March 2004

         Notification of directors' interests: Companies Act 1985 s.329

1.     The independent trustee of the Barclays Group (ESAS) Employees' Benefit
Trust, (the ESAS Trust) notified the company on 1 March 2004 that it had between
23 and 27 February 2004 exercised its discretion and released 4,054,901 ordinary
shares in Barclays PLC to participants in the Executive Share Award Scheme
('ESAS'). The shares were released following provisional allocations made by the
trustee over Barclays PLC ordinary shares to participants in the ESAS. Of these
shares, the following were released to directors of Barclays PLC:

Director      Shares         Shares sold on  Shares    Price    Shares
              released to    behalf of       sold at   per      retained
              directors      directors to    the       share    by
                             meet tax and    request   (p)      directors
                             national        of
                             insurance       directors
                             liability
Mr M W        75,289         30,869          44,420    491.5    0
Barrett
Mr J S Varley 43,630         17,889          0         487.2    25,741
Mr C J        21,817         8,946           0         487.2    12,871
Lendrum
Mr G A        10,913         4,476           0         487.2    6,437
Hoffman

The revised total share holding for each director who has retained shares
released under the ESAS, following these transactions, is as follows:

Director               Beneficial Holding   Non Beneficial Holding
Mr J S Varley          329,524              -
Mr C J Lendrum         237,375              -
Mr G A Hoffman         132,929              -

2.   The independent trustee of the ESAS Trust further notified the Company on 1
March 2004 that it had between 24 February 2004 and 27 February 2004 purchased a
total of 10,361,084 ordinary shares in Barclays PLC at prices between 491.5p and
507.4p per share.

3. The independent trustee of the Barclays Group (ESAS) Supplementary Trust (the
'ESAS Supplementary trust') notified the Company on 1 March 2004 that it had
between 23 February 2004 and 25 February 2004 released a total of 23,344
ordinary shares in Barclays PLC at prices between 491.5p and 506.7p per share.
None of the shares released were in respect of an award made to a director of
Barclays PLC.

Following these transactions, the trustees of all the Barclays Group employees'
benefit trusts hold a total of 98,888,856 ordinary shares in Barclays PLC. Sir
Peter Middleton, Chairman, and the executive directors of Barclays PLC are
amongst the potential beneficiaries under these trusts and are therefore
regarded for Companies Act purposes as being interested in the Barclays PLC
ordinary shares held in them.




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