Appointment

Wolseley PLC
2 May 2001



                                 NEWS RELEASE

                                  2 May 2001

                 Appointment of Group Chief Executive Officer

Wolseley plc is pleased to announce that Mr Charles (Charlie) A. Banks
currently President and CEO of the group's principal US subsidiary, Ferguson
Enterprises Inc, is to be appointed Group Chief Executive with effect 3 May
2001.

Mr Banks, a graduate of Brown University, has been with Ferguson for
thirty-four years during which time he has progressed through the organisation
culminating in his appointment as President and CEO in 1989 and his
appointment to the Wolseley plc board in 1992.

Since Charlie's appointment as Chief Executive of Ferguson, the company has
under his leadership achieved outstanding growth with sales growing from $600
million to over $3 billion. During this period the number of branches has
increased from 162 to 479.

Mr Banks is relocating to the UK with immediate effect.



Appointment of Chief Executive Officer, Ferguson Enterprises Inc

Wolseley plc is also pleased to announce that consequent upon Mr Banks'
appointment, Claude (Chip) S. Hornsby currently Senior Vice President, Branch
Operations, Ferguson Enterprises Inc, has been appointed President and Chief
Executive Officer, Ferguson Enterprises Inc and will also be appointed a
Director of Wolseley plc, with effect from 3 May 2001, when he will be
responsible for the group's US Plumbing and Heating Distribution operations.

Chip Hornsby, a graduate of Virginia Tech, has spent the whole of his working
life with Ferguson and is an outstanding example of the success of the
Ferguson graduate recruitment and training programme. During his 23 years with
Ferguson, Chip has had a number of increasingly challenging appointments and
proved himself to be a worthy successor to Charlie Banks.



Chairman

Following Mr Banks' appointment, Richard Ireland will revert to being the
group's Non-Executive Chairman.



Commenting on the appointments, Richard Ireland said, 'I am delighted that,
following an extensive and rigorous search, the board has selected Charlie
Banks to lead Wolseley in the future. Charlie has made a significant
contribution to the Wolseley Group since he was appointed to the Wolseley
Board in 1992 where he has shown himself to be an executive with vision and
sound commercial judgement. In his role at Ferguson he has exhibited
outstanding leadership qualities in growing the business into the $3 billion
enterprise it is today. I have no doubt he will bring all of these and many
other qualities to his new enlarged role in which I wish him every success.

With Chip Hornsby's appointment the Ferguson graduate programme has had an
outstanding success of which its founders can be justifiably proud. Chip has
worked closely with Charlie Banks as he has progressed upwards through a
succession of challenging management posts. Although Chip will want to bring
his own management skills to bear in Ferguson, I am sure that their long
standing partnership will work to the benefit of the group.'

Commenting on his appointment Charlie Banks said, 'I am thrilled to be given
the responsibility of leading this great company and I am looking forward to
the opportunities ahead. Wolseley has shown a terrific record of growth over
many years, through organic expansion and acquisitions. I am confident that we
will build on that strong base to sustain the group's development in existing
and new international markets.'





                                  ENQUIRIES:

                     Richard Ireland - Executive Chairman

                    Wolseley plc - Telephone [phone]

                        Tom Wyatt - Financial Dynamics

                           Telephone [phone]



                               www.wolseley.com