Holding(s) in Company

Speedy Hire PLC
19 March 2004

To:    Speedy Hire plc
Dated: 17 March 2004

5p ORDINARY SHARES ('SHARES')

We write to advise you that we, Schroder Investment Management Limited, have an 
interest in 6,167,109 shares which are held in portfolios managed by us on a 
discretionary basis for clients under investment management agreements.

Included in this figure are:-

(i)  3,639,053 shares held in (a) unit trust(s) operated and managed by an 
     affiliated company, Schroder Unit Trusts Limited (SUTL), and registered or 
     to be registered in the name of Chase Nominees Limited and,

(ii) 2,528,056 shares neither registered nor to be registered in the name of 
     Schroder Nominees. The registration details are shown on the schedule 
     below.

An affiliated company, Schroder Investment Management North America Inc (SIMNA 
Inc), is managing (a) portfolio(s) on a similar basis holding a further 655,008 
shares which are registered or to be registered in the name of J P Morgan.

We believe that we, our subsidiary and affiliated company are therefore 
interested in an overall aggregate of 6,822,117 shares, representing some 16.00% 
of the total number of shares in issue, namely 42,642,701.

This notification is made to you:-

(a) in respect of our interest as investment,

(b) on behalf of SIMNA Inc and SUTL in relation to the interests they are 
    treated as having respectively under the Companies Act 1985 (the Act), and

(c) on behalf of Schroders plc., our holding company, which is treated as having 
    an interest in all of the above shares under the Act by virtue of its 
    ownership of SIMNA Inc, SUTL and ourselves.


                               5P ORDINARY SHARES

                                    SCHEDULE

REGISTRATION                                                AMOUNT

Chase Nominees Limited                                     283,421
British Coal Staff Superannuation a/c: P                   993,435
Mineworkers' Pension Scheme a/c: R                         926,200
Nortrust Nominees Limited                                  325,000

                                                         2,528,056


From: Schroder Investment Management Limited

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