Acquisition

Kingfisher PLC
31 October 2000


                   Kingfisher plc To Acquire Streets Online
                                       
Kingfisher plc has today announced its intention to purchase an 85% majority
share in Streets Online, the UK's leading on-line entertainment retailer, for
£15.7 million, payable in cash or loan notes.

Streets Online will complement Kingfisher's MVC entertainment retail business
which currently operates 87 stores throughout the UK.

Founded in 1996, Streets Online operates a group of transactional websites
consisting primarily of Audiostreet (music), DVDstreet (DVD), Gamesstreet
(games) and Alphabetstreet (books) together with related websites for content,
including online magazine Streetwise and Xchange, a service for providing
second hand or hard to find products from third parties.

Streets Online has recruited over 300,000 customers since its launch and is
projected to have annual sales of around £10 million in 2000.  It has also
achieved the highest reach of any UK e-commerce web site for the last six
months up to September 2000, according to NetValue.

Commenting on the acquisition, e-Kingfisher Chief Executive Ian Cheshire,
said: 'The acquisition of Streets Online with its well-developed e-commerce
infrastructure is another example of Kingfisher's 'bricks and clicks' strategy
to offer customers multi-channel access to its products.  Streets Online will
benefit greatly from its close links with MVC and the buying strength of
Kingfisher'.

Following the proposed Kingfisher demerger, Streets Online will become part of
the new General Merchandise company.  Martin Toogood, Chief Executive of
General Merchandise, said: 'The UK's music, video/DVD and games entertainment
market is expected to grow by 8% each year to around £5.7 billion in 2004.
Around 17% of this market will come from e-commerce.  The purchase of Streets
Online will give General Merchandise a substantial share of the online market
and will reinforce our position as one of the UK's leading entertainment
retailers'.

                                      
                               NOTES TO EDITORS

MVC Entertainment Limited (MVC)

*    Specialist entertainment retailer MVC opened its first store in 1991 and
     now operates 87 stores throughout the UK
*    MVC has over five million membership card holders
*    MVC has around 5% of the CD, video and DVD markets in the UK

For further information:

Media Enquiries
Jonathan Miller, Head of Public Relations              [phone]
Gail Lavielle, Director of Corporate Communications    [phone]

Broker and Institutional Enquiries
Andrew Mills, Acting Director of Investor Relations    [phone]
Graham Fairbank, Head of Corporate Communications      [phone]

Kingfisher plc                                         [phone]
Kingfisher website                                     www.kingfisher.co.uk