Third Quarter Like-for-like Sales Growth of 6.4%

Kingfisher PLC
8 December 1999

          Trading statement for 13 week period ending 30 October 1999
                                       
      KINGFISHER REPORTS THIRD QUARTER LIKE-FOR-LIKE SALES GROWTH OF 6.4%
                                       
Kingfisher   plc,  the  European  DIY,  electricals  and  general  merchandise
retailer,  today  reports  that each of its sectors experienced  sales  growth
against the comparable period last year.

Total  sales  grew  by over 50 percent from £1.72 billion  to  £2.59  billion,
boosted  by the initial contributions from new businesses including  Castorama
and  Screwfix  in  DIY,  BUT in electricals and VCI  in  general  merchandise.
Existing  businesses showed continued organic growth with particularly  strong
performances in the European DIY and Electricals sectors.

Kingfisher's like-for-like sales growth for the quarter was 6.4 per cent. On a
pro-forma basis, adjusting for the businesses added to the group, the
like-for-
like growth would have been 5.2 per cent.

DIY

In  DIY, where Kingfisher is the clear European market leader, sales of  £1.16
billion  represented an increase of nearly one and a half  times  and  were  a
result  of  the merger last December of Castorama and B&Q, the acquisition  of
Screwfix and continuing organic growth.

B&Q  again  performed strongly with total sales up by more than  25  per  cent
including like-for-like growth of over 8 per cent in the period. Overall sales
benefited from the opening of 5 new Warehouse stores during the period, taking
the  total number to 44, and the first contribution from Screwfix, the  direct
mail/e-commerce  business  specialising  in  servicing  the  trade  and   core
professional customer base.

Castorama, excluding B&Q, grew sales on a proforma basis by over 8 per cent in
local  currency terms with like-for-like growth of 2.3 per cent.  Particularly
strong  growth  was  achieved  by  Brico Depot  and  the  Polish  and  Italian
operations.  Further encouraging progress has been achieved in the integration
of  B&Q  and  Castorama,  with Castorama now on the same  financial  reporting
schedule as the rest of Kingfisher.

Electricals

Total  sales in the European electricals sector, where Kingfisher is a leading
player,  rose  by over 23 per cent to £766 million. This performance  reflects
both  the  consolidation  of  BUT as a fully-owned subsidiary  throughout  the
period and continuing growth from existing businesses.

Darty,  the  French market leader, grew total sales by nearly 7  per  cent  in
local currency terms with like-for-like sales of more than 4 percent. Sales of
multi-media  products  and mobile phones continued to be particularly  strong.
BUT,  the  fourth largest French electricals retailer as well  as  the  second
largest furniture retailer, also enjoyed strong sales growth.

In  the UK, Comet, the market number two, increased sales by over 17 per  cent
including  like-for-like sales growth of over 9 per cent. This strong  overall
performance  was  lifted  by  the contributions of  two  of  the  new  concept
destination stores opened at Paisley and Reading. A third has recently  opened
in  Greenwich.  On  1 October, the business launched its new consistently  low
pricing strategy which resulted in sharp sales gains.

The other European electricals operations in Germany, Belgium and Holland also
produced  reasonable sales gains. Since the period end Kingfisher has  assumed
market  leadership in Belgian electricals, following its acquisition  of  Hugo
Van  Praag. The LibertySurf Internet Service Provider, in which Kingfisher  is
in partnership with the Arnault Group, continues to make good progress.

General Merchandise

Overall growth in general merchandise sales was nearly 7 per cent producing a
total of £668 million. This included contributions from VCI, the entertainment
publishing business, and Big W, the new out of town general merchandise format
currently trading from two stores, both of which have got off to a promising
start.

Woolworths increased total sales by nearly 4 per cent and like-for-like by
over 1 per cent. Growth was driven by mobile communications, confectionery and
'back to school'. Entertainment sales were adversely impacted by the lack of a
blockbuster release, and a similar offer to last year's Titanic would have
seen Woolworths overall like-for-like sales ahead 3%.

Superdrug, the health and beauty specialist, grew total sales by over 4 per
cent and like-for-like by nearly 3 per cent. Growth in Healthcare was a strong
feature, benefiting from the continued expansion of the pharmacy operations,
and significantly higher sales of medicinal products, whilst the Beauty area
saw strong like-for-like sales of skincare products.

Chief Executive's Commentary

Commenting on the sales figures, Sir Geoffrey Mulcahy, Chief Executive, said:

'Overall this is a satisfactory performance considering that the third quarter
last year saw similarly strong like-for-like sales growth by the group of over
5 per cent. The current environment is extremely competitive and we are having
to work very hard to produce these performances in each of our sectors.'

Sir Geoffrey added: 'As we move into the key Christmas trading weeks of the
year, we shall continue to focus on offering our customers the best value,
choice and service. The early signs are that this Christmas is proving to be
as challenging as ever.'
                                       
For further information:

Kingfisher plc, 0171 724 7749

Press Enquiries:
Gwen Gober, Director of Corporate Affairs

Broker/Institutional Enquiries:
Keith Williams, Director of Investor Relations


                          QUARTER 3 TRADING STATEMENT
                             Third quarter 1999/00
                                       
              Sales for the 13 week period ended October 30 1999

                   1999/00               1998/99           %       %
                                                        Increa   Like-
                                                          se     for-
                                                                 like
                  (Wk 27-39)           (Wk 27-39)                  
              £m         Euro m     £m          Euro m           
                                                                  
B&Q **^         592.6      895.1       470.3      710.4    26.0    8.2
                                                                      
Castorama       564.9      853.3         N/A        N/A     N/A    N/A
                                                                      
DIY sector    1,157.5    1,748.4       470.3       710.4  146.1    8.2
                                                                      
Darty*          285.4      431.1       281.0      424.5     1.6    4.1
                                                                      
Comet           240.1      362.7       205.1      309.8    17.1    9.3
                                                                      
Other           240.9      363.9       135.3      204.4    78.0   21.0
Electricals**
*^
                                                                      
Electrical      766.4    1,157.7       621.4      938.7    23.3    9.6
Sector
                                                                      
Woolworths      383.7      579.6       370.0      558.9     3.7    1.1
                                                                      
Superdrug       200.6      303.0       192.2      290.3     4.4    2.7
                                                                      
Other ****^      83.6      126.3        63.3       95.6    32.1    7.0
                                                                      
General         667.9    1,008.9       625.5      944.8     6.8    1.8
Merchandise
Sector
                                                                      
Total Group   2,591.8    3,915.0     1,717.2    2,593.9    50.9    6.4
                                                            
Darty (FFRm)       2,871.2               2,686.9            6.9    4.1
                                                          

*    All store sales suffered by £(17.6)m as a result of translation into
     sterling, of which £(14)m related to Darty.
     The like-for-like increases are shown at constant exchange rates.
**   Includes NOMI, Screwfix and B&Q Shanghai.
***  Comprises Wegert, BUT, BCC, New Vanden Borre and Electric City.
**** Comprises Entertainment UK, MVC and VCI (Entertainment UK not included in
LFL increase).
^    Sales from Wegert, BUT, NOMI, VCI and B&Q Shanghai are for the quarter
ended 30 September.

Note: Euro comparisons are at a constant exchange rate (1.5105)

                          QUARTER 3 TRADING STATEMENT
                             Third quarter 1999/00
                                       
              Sales for the 39 week period ended October 30 1999

                    1999/00               1998/99            %      %
                                                          Increa  Like-
                                                            se    for-
                                                                  like
                   (Wk 1-39)             (Wk 1-39)                  
              £m         Euro m       £m         Euro m           
                                                                  
B&Q **^        1,778.7     2,686.7     1,466.2    2,214.7    21.3   7.7
                                                                       
Castorama      1,689.1     2,551.4         N/A        N/A     N/A   N/A
                                                                       
DIY sector     3,467.8     5,238.1     1,466.2    2,214.7   136.5   7.7
                                                                       
Darty*           785.5     1,186.5       753.7    1,138.5     4.2   2.6
                                                                       
Comet            620.2       936.8       549.6      830.2    12.8   5.6
                                                                       
Other            672.4     1,015.7       192.1      290.2   250.0  15.2
Electricals*
**^
                                                                       
Electrical     2,078.1     3,139.0     1,495.4    2,258.9    39.0   5.3
Sector
                                                                       
Woolworths     1,086.0     1,640.4     1,046.2    1,580.3     3.8   2.2
                                                                       
Superdrug        595.3       899.2       558.9      844.2     6.5   4.4
                                                                       
Other ****^      208.9       315.5       158.9      239.9    31.5   2.5
                                                                       
General        1,890.2     2,855.1     1,764.0    2,664.4     7.2   2.9
Merchandise
Sector
                                                                       
Total Group    7,436.1    11,232.2     4,725.6    7,138.0    57.4   5.2
                                                              
Darty (FFRm)        7,813.2               7,395.6             5.6   2.6
                                                            

*    All store sales suffered by £(11.7)m as a result of translation into
sterling, of which £(10.2)m relates to Darty
     The like-for-like increases are shown at constant exchange rates.
**   Includes NOMI, Screwfix and B&Q Shanghai.
***  Comprises Wegert, BUT, BCC, New Vanden Borre and Electric City.
**** Comprises Entertainment UK, MVC and VCI (Entertainment UK not included in
LFL increase).
^    Sales from Wegert, BUT, NOMI, VCI and B&Q Shanghai are for the quarter
ended 30 September.

Note: Euro comparisons are at a constant exchange rate (1.5105)

                          QUARTER 3 TRADING STATEMENT
                        Pro-Forma Third Quarter 1999/00
      (assuming all businesses owned by Kingfisher throughout both years)
              Sales for the 13 week period ended October 30 1999

                    1999/00              1998/99           %      %
                                                         Incre  Like-
                                                          ase    for-
                                                                 like
                  (Wk 27-39)            (Wk 27-39)                 
              £m          Euro m     £m         Euro m          
                                                                
B&Q **^          592.6      895.1      496.5       750.0  19.4     8.3
                                                                      
Castorama*       564.9      853.3      552.0       833.8   2.3     2.3
                                                                      
DIY sector     1,157.5    1,748.4    1,048.5     1,583.8  10.4     5.1
                                                                      
Darty*           285.4      431.1      281.0       424.5   1.6     4.1
                                                                      
Comet            240.1      362.7      205.1       309.8  17.1     9.3
                                                                      
Other            240.9      363.9      194.3       293.5  24.0    12.6
Electricals**
*^
                                                                      
Electrical       766.4    1,157.7      680.4     1,027.8  12.6     8.2
Sector
                                                                      
Woolworths       383.7      579.6      370.0       558.9   3.7     1.1
                                                                      
Superdrug        200.6      303.0      192.2       290.3   4.4     2.7
                                                                      
Other ****^       83.6      126.3       69.5       105.0  20.3     7.0
                                                                      
General          667.9    1,008.9      631.7       954.2   5.7     1.8
Merchandise
Sector
                                                                      
Total Group    2,591.8    3,915.0    2,360.6     3,565.8   9.8     5.2
                                                                
Local                                                                 
Currency
                                                                      
Castorama            5,693.5               5,265.0         8.1     2.3
(FFRm)
Darty (FFRm)         2,871.2               2,686.9         6.9     4.1
                                                                

*    All store sales suffered by £(50.0)m as a result of translation into
     sterling, of which £(29.6)m and £(14.0)m related to Castorama and Darty
     respectively.
     The like-for-like increases are shown at constant exchange rates.
**   Includes NOMI, Screwfix and B&Q Shanghai.
***  Comprises Wegert, BUT, BCC, New Vanden Borre and Electric City
**** Comprises Entertainment UK, MVC and VCI (Entertainment UK and VCI not
included in LFL increase)
^    Sales from Wegert, BUT, NOMI, VCI  and B&Q Shanghai are for the quarter
ended 30 September

Note: Euro comparisons are at a constant exchange rate (1.5105)

                          QUARTER 3 TRADING STATEMENT
                        Pro-Forma Third Quarter 1999/00
      (assuming all businesses owned by Kingfisher throughout both years)
              Sales for the 39 week period ended October 30 1999

                    1999/00                1998/99           %       %
                                                           Increa  Like-
                                                             se    for-
                                                                   like
                   (Wk 1-39)              (Wk 1-39)                  
              £m         Euro m      £m          Euro m            
                                                                   
B&Q **^       1,778.7     2,686.7     1,515.4      2,289.0   17.4    7.8
                                                                        
Castorama*    1,689.1     2,551.4     1,562.4      2,360.0    8.1    4.7
                                                                        
DIY sector    3,467.8     5,238.1     3,077.8      4,649.0   12.7    6.2
                                                                        
Darty*          785.5     1,186.5       753.7      1,138.5    4.2    2.6
                                                                        
Comet           620.2       936.8       549.6        830.2   12.8    5.6
                                                                        
Other           672.4     1,015.7       599.9        906.1   12.1    3.2
Electricals**
*^
                                                                        
Electrical    2,078.1     3,139.0     1,903.2      2,874.8    9.2    3.6
Sector
                                                                        
Woolworths    1,086.0     1,640.4     1,046.2      1,580.3    3.8    2.2
                                                                        
Superdrug       595.3       899.2       558.9        844.2    6.5    4.4
                                                                        
Other ****^     208.9       315.5       188.8        285.2   10.6    2.5
                                                                        
General       1,890.2     2,855.1     1,793.9      2,709.7    5.4    2.9
Merchandise
Sector
                                                                        
Total Group   7,436.1    11,232.2     6,774.9     10,233.5    9.8    4.6
                                                                   
Local                                                                   
Currency
                                                                        
Castorama            16,802.0               15,331.8          9.6    4.7
(FFRm)
Darty (FFRm)         7,813.2                7,395.6           5.6    2.6
                                                                   

*    All store sales suffered by £(37.2)m as a result of translation into
     sterling, of which £(21.1)m and £(10.2)m related to Castorama and Darty
     respectively.
     The like-for-like increases are shown at constant exchange rates.
**   Includes NOMI, Screwfix and B&Q Shanghai.
***  Comprises Wegert, BUT, BCC, New Vanden Borre and Electric City
**** Comprises Entertainment UK, MVC and VCI (Entertainment UK and VCI not
included in LFL increase)
^    Sales from Wegert, BUT, NOMI, VCI  and B&Q Shanghai are for the quarter
ended 30 September

Note: Euro comparisons are at a constant exchange rate (1.5105)