Director Shareholding

FIRSTGROUP PLC                                 

         NOTIFICATION OF INTERESTS OF DIRECTORS AND CONNECTED PERSONS          

The company has today been informed that on 24 May 2005, David Leeder, UK Bus
Director, exercised an award of 14,983 deferred nil-cost options over
FirstGroup ordinary shares awarded under the FirstGroup plc Executive Annual
Bonus Plan (the 'Bonus Plan'). To fund the tax and national insurance
liabilities arising out of this exercise, he today sold 6,266 of those shares
at 325 pence per share.

As a result of these transactions, David Leeder now has beneficial interests in
10,171 FirstGroup ordinary shares. He retains options over 182,440 FirstGroup
ordinary shares awarded under the FirstGroup plc Executive Share Option Scheme,
which are subject to achievement of certain performance criteria, deferred
share options over 27,104 FirstGroup ordinary shares under the Bonus Plan and
options over 4,921 ordinary shares under the FirstGroup plc Savings-Related
Share Option Scheme.

Contact: Louise Ruppel, Company Secretary, FirstGroup plc

020 7291 0505