Disposal

National Grid PLC
03 April 2007


03 April 2007


                               National Grid plc


                    Sale of UK Wireless business for £2.5bn

                             £1.8bn share buy-back


National Grid plc ('National Grid') is pleased to announce that it has signed
and expects to complete today an agreement with Macquarie UK Broadcast Ventures
Limited, the parent company of Arqiva Limited, on the sale of its UK Wireless
business for a total cash consideration of £2.5 billion.*

The total consideration represents a multiple of 19.3 times EBITDA** for the
year ended 31 March 2006.

Following the announcement on 16 November 2006 regarding the proposed demerger
of the UK Wireless business, National Grid received approaches from various
parties seeking to purchase this business. National Grid's Board has determined,
following a competitive process, that the agreed sale represents the most
attractive and certain outcome for our shareholders. The sale is expected to
enhance earnings per share immediately.

Following completion, National Grid is pleased to announce that it will return
£1.8 billion to shareholders via an extension of the existing share buy-back
programme.

Steve Holliday, Chief Executive of National Grid, said:

'We are delighted with the outcome of this transaction, which has secured an
attractive premium for a great business which we have grown successfully. We are
confident that it delivers greater shareholder value than a demerger. This
represents a significant step in our strategy of focussing on the UK and US
electricity and gas markets, and demonstrates our commitment to generating
shareholder value. Meanwhile we continue to progress the sale of our much
smaller US Wireless business.'

The repurchase programme is expected to be effected on the London Stock Exchange
over the next 12 to 18 months and will be dependent on market and economic
conditions. Shares will be repurchased in accordance with the Board's general
authority to make market repurchases of ordinary shares, as approved by
shareholders. The Board will seek shareholder approval to renew this authority
at our next AGM.



Contacts

Investors
David Rees               [phone]     [phone] (m)
Richard Smith            [phone]     [phone] (m)
James Waite              [phone]     [phone] (m)

Media
Stewart Larque           [phone]     [phone] (m)

Citigate Dewe Rogerson
Anthony Carlisle         [phone]     [phone](m)



Additional information

National Grid Wireless in the UK is the leading independent provider of network
infrastructure to mobile network operators. National Grid Wireless operates
around 5,000 active sites used for mobile communications. It is one of two
providers of transmission networks for analogue and digital television and radio
broadcasters with around 750 purpose-built broadcast towers and associated
transmission equipment. National Grid Wireless also holds licenses for two
digital television multiplexes utilised by broadcasters in the UK.

For the year ended 31 March 2006, National Grid Wireless UK generated operating
profit** of £70m on revenues of £297m and had gross assets of £1,451m.



* Subject to a working capital adjustment. The purchaser has confirmed that all
existing employee rights will be on the same or comparable terms.

** Measured on a business performance basis. Business performance results
represent the results of Wireless before exceptional items and remeasurements.
Remeasurements are non-cash movements in the carrying value of financial
instruments and of certain commodity contracts that arise from changes in
mark-to-market values or in exchange rates and are reflected in the income
statement to the extent that hedge accounting is not achieved or is not fully
effective.



Cautionary statement

This announcement contains certain statements that are neither reported
financial results nor other historical information. These statements are
forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities
Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934,
as amended. These statements include information with respect to National Grid's
financial condition, National Grid's results of operations and businesses,
strategy, plans and objectives. Words such as 'anticipates', 'expects',
'intends', 'plans', 'believes', 'seeks', 'estimates', 'may', 'will', 'continue',
'project' and similar expressions, as well as statements in the future tense,
identify forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are not
guarantees of National Grid's future performance and are subject to assumptions,
risks and uncertainties that could cause actual future results to differ
materially from those expressed in or implied by the forward-looking statements.
Many of these assumptions, risks and uncertainties relate to factors that are
beyond National Grid's ability to control or estimate precisely, such as delays
in obtaining, or adverse conditions contained in, regulatory approvals and
contractual consents, including those required to complete the proposed
acquisition of KeySpan when or as planned, unseasonable weather affecting the
demand for electricity and gas, competition and industry restructuring, changes
in economic conditions, currency fluctuations, changes in interest and tax
rates, changes in energy market prices, changes in historical weather patterns,
changes in laws, regulations or regulatory policies, developments in legal or
public policy doctrines, the impact of changes to accounting standards and
technological developments. Other factors that could cause actual results to
differ materially from those described in this announcement include the ability
to integrate the businesses relating to announced acquisitions with our existing
business and realise the expected synergies from such integration, the
availability of new acquisition opportunities and the timing and success of
future acquisition opportunities, the impact of the sales of businesses by
National Grid, the failure for any reason to achieve reductions in costs or to
achieve operational efficiencies, the failure to retain key management, the
behaviour of UK electricity market participants on system balancing, the timing
of amendments in prices to shippers in the UK gas market, the performance of
National Grid's pension schemes and the regulatory treatment of pension costs,
and any adverse consequences arising from outages on or otherwise affecting
energy networks, including gas pipelines, owned or operated by National Grid.
For a more detailed description of some of these assumptions, risks and
uncertainties, together with any other risk factors, please see National Grid's
filings with and submissions to the US Securities and Exchange Commission (the
'SEC') (and in particular the 'Risk Factors' and 'Operating and Financial
Review' sections in its most recent Annual Report on Form 20-F and the 'Risk
Factors' section in its Registration Statement on Form F-3 filed with the SEC on
28 June 2006). Except as may be required by law or regulation, National Grid
undertakes no obligation to update any of its forward-looking statements. The
effects of these factors are difficult to predict. New factors emerge from time
to time and National Grid cannot assess the potential impact of any such factor
on its activities or the extent to which any factor, or combination of factors,
may cause results to differ materially from those contained in any
forward-looking statement.



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