Shareholding

FBD Holdings PLC
28 June 2006

                                 PRESS RELEASE





                        FARMER BUSINESS DEVELOPMENTS PLC

                            REDUCES ITS SHAREHOLDING

                          IN FBD HOLDINGS PLC ('FBD')







Farmer Business Developments plc ('the Company') announces that it has today
disposed of 4.5m. shares in FBD Holdings plc for a consideration of €153m.   The
transaction was effected via a placing on the Irish Stock Exchange.



Following the transaction, Farmer Business Developments plc maintains its
position as the largest shareholder in FBD Holdings plc, with a holding of 8.5m.
shares, representing 24.8% of the issued share capital.   The Company is
committed to remain as a strategic long-term investor in FBD Holdings plc.



The FBD Group has created significant wealth for its shareholders since its
establishment in the late 1960s.  Farmer Business Developments plc has decided
to realise some of this value for purposes which it has identified, including
the funding of share buybacks from its shareholders.



Background Information

Farmer Business Developments plc was established in 1988 as part of the
corporate restructuring undertaken when FBD Holdings plc was about to be formed
and prior to FBD's listing on the Irish & London Stock Exchanges.   The Company
has 4,500 shareholders, practically all of whom are farmers and whose stake
originated in the late 1960s and early 1970s when the companies that now form
part of the FBD Holdings plc group were established.



Farmer Business Developments plc is an investment holding company.   Its stake
in FBD Holdings plc has been its sole investment, for all intents and purposes,
over the years.   The Company has been and intends to continue being a stable
shareholder in FBD Holdings plc.





Ends
                                        28th June 2006










For Reference:
                                 Telephone No



FBD

Bryan Barry
                               Tel [phone]

Secretary

Farmer Business Developments plc













This announcement has been issued through the Companies Announcement Service of

                           The Irish Stock Exchange.






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