Holding(s) in Company

WH Smith PLC 25 January 2007 NOTIFICATION OF MAJOR INTERESTS IN SHARES 1) NAME OF LISTED COMPANY WH SMITH PLC 2) NAME OF SHAREHOLDER HAVING A MAJOR INTEREST SILCHESTER INTERNATIONAL INVESTORS LIMITED 3) Please state whether notification indicates that it is regarding the holding of the shareholder named in 2 above; in respect of a non-beneficial interest; or in the case of an individual holder if it is a holding of that person's spouse or children under the age of 18 SEE ATTACHED NOTIFICATION BELOW 4) Name of the registered holder(s) and, if more than one holder, the number of shares held by each of them. SEE ATTACHED NOTIFICATION BELOW 5) Number of shares/amount of stock acquired. N/A 6) Percentage of issued Class (any treasury shares held by the listed company should not be taken into account when calculating percentage) 7) Number of shares/amount of stock disposed N/A 8) Percentage of issued Class (any treasury shares held by the listed company should not be taken into account when calculating percentage) 9) Class of security ORDINARY SHARES OF 20 PENCE EACH 10) Date of transaction N/A 11) Date listed company informed 25 JANUARY 2007 12) Total holding following this notification 18,047,943 13) Total percentage holding of issued class following this notification (any treasury shares held by the listed company should not be taken into account when calculating percentage) 9.87% 14) Any additional information 15) Name of contact and telephone number for queries AMANDA LAM (01793) 562489 16) Name and signature of duly authorised officer of the listed company responsible for making this notification I HOUGHTON, COMPANY SECRETARY Date of Notification 25 JANUARY 2007 TR-1(i): NOTIFICATION OF MAJOR INTERESTS IN SHARES (1). Identity of the issuer or the underlying issuer of existing shares to which voting rights are attached (ii): WH SMITH PLC ................. 2. Reason for the notification (please tick the appropriate box or boxes): An acquisition or disposal of voting rights: ( X ) An acquisition or disposal of financial instruments which may result in the acquisition of shares already issued to which voting rights are attached: ( ) An event changing the breakdown of voting rights: ( ) Other (please specify) : ( ) ................. 3. Full name of person(s) subject to the notification obligation (iii): Silchester International Investors Ltd ................. 4. Full name of shareholder(s) (if different from 3.) (iv): Silchester International Investors International Value Equity Trust Silchester International Investors International Value Equity Group Trust Silchester International Investors Tobacco Free International Value Equity Trust The Calleva Trust ................. 5. Date of the transaction and date on which the threshold is crossed or reached if different) (v): 24th January 2007 ................. 6. Date on which issuer notified: 25th January 2007 ................. 7. Threshold(s) that is/are crossed or reached: Below 10% ................. 8. Notified details: Not Applicable ................. A: Voting rights attached to shares Class/type of Situation previous to shares the Triggering transaction if possible using the ISIN CODE Number of Number of of shares Voting Rights GB00B17WCM17 19,470,192 19,470,192 Resulting situation after the triggering transaction (vii) Class/type of Number of Number of voting % of voting rights shares shares rights if possible using the ISIN CODE Direct Direct Indirect Direct Indirect 18,047,943 18,047,943 9.87% B: Financial Instruments Resulting situation after the triggering transaction (xii) Type of Expiration Date Exercise/Conversion Number of voting % of voting financial (xiii) Period/ Date (xiv) rights that may be rights instrument acquired if the instrument is exercised/ converted. N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A Total (A+B) Number of voting % of voting rights rights 18,047,943 9.87% 9. Chain of controlled undertakings through which the voting rights and/or the financial instruments are effectively held, if applicable (xv): Not Applicable ................. Proxy Voting: 10. Name of the proxy holder: Silchester International Investors Ltd ................. 11. Number of voting rights proxy holder will cease to hold: Not Applicable ................. 12. Date on which proxy holder will cease to hold voting rights: Not Applicable ................. 13. Additional information: Silchester International Investors Ltd ('Silchester') acts as investment manager for the clients detailed in Question 4 above (our 'Clients'). In acting for for Clients, Silchester are given full discretion over their investment and are empowered to vote on their behalf. However, we do not act as our Clients' custodian and therefore shares are not held in our name but in the name of each Clients' custodian bank. ................. 14. Contact name: Timothy Linehan, Compliance Officer ................. 15. Contact telephone number: 0207-518-7125 ................. Annex Notification Of Major Interests In Shares (XVI) A: Identity of the person or legal entity subject to the notification obligation Full name (including legal form for legal entities): Silchester International Investors Ltd ................. Contact address (registered office for legal entities): Time & Life Building 1 Bruton Street, 5th Floor London W1J 6TL ................. Phone number: 0207-518-7125 ................. Other useful information (at least legal representative for legal persons): Attn: Timothy Linehan, Compliance Officer ................. B: Identity of the notifier, if applicable (xvii) Full name: Silchester International Investors Ltd ................. Contact address: Time & Life Building 1 Bruton Street, 5th Floor London W1J 6TL ................. Phone number: 0207-518-7125 ................. Other useful information (e.g. functional relationship with the person or legal entity subject to the notification obligation): Attn: Timothy Linehan, Compliance Officer ................. C: Additional information : ................. Notes to the Forms (i) This form is to be sent to the issuer or underlying issuer and to be filed with the competent authority. (ii) Either the full name of the legal entity or another method for identifying the issuer or underlying issuer, provided it is reliable and accurate. (iii) This should be the full name of (a) the shareholder; (b) the person acquiring, disposing of or exercising voting rights in the cases provided for in DTR5.2.1 (b) to (h); (c) all the parties to the agreement referred to in DTR5.2.1 (a), or (d) the direct or indirect holder of financial instruments entitled to acquire shares already issued to which voting rights are attached, as appropriate. In relation to the transactions referred to in points DTR5.2.1 (b) to (h), the following list is provided as indication of the persons who should be mentioned: - in the circumstances foreseen in DTR5.2.1 (b), the person that acquires the voting rights and is entitled to exercise them under the agreement and the natural person or legal entity who is transferring temporarily for consideration the voting rights; - in the circumstances foreseen in DTR 5.2.1 (c), the person holding the collateral, provided the person or entity controls the voting rights and declares its intention of exercising them, and person lodging the collateral under these conditions; - in the circumstances foreseen in DTR5.2.1(d), the person who has a life interest in shares if that person is entitled to exercise the voting rights attached to the shares and the person who is disposing of the voting rights when the life interest is created; - in the circumstances foreseen in DTR5.2.1 (e), the parent undertaking and, provided it has a notification duty at an individual level under DTR 5.1, under DTR5.2.1 (a) to (d) or under a combination of any of those situations, the controlled undertaking; - in the circumstances foreseen in DTR5.2.1 (f), the deposit taker of the shares, if he can exercise the voting rights attached to the shares deposited with him at his discretion, and the depositor of the shares allowing the deposit taker to exercise the voting rights at his discretion; - in the circumstances foreseen in DTR5.2.1 (g), the person that controls the voting rights; - in the circumstances foreseen in DTR5.2.1 (h), the proxy holder, if he can exercise the voting rights at his discretion, and the shareholder who has given his proxy to the proxy holder allowing the latter to exercise the voting rights at his discretion. (iv) Applicable in the cases provided for in DTR 5.2.1 (b) to (h). This should be the full name of the shareholder who is the counterparty to the natural person or legal entity referred to in DTR5.2. (v) The date of the transaction should normally be, in the case of an on exchange transaction, the date on which the matching of orders occurs; in the case of an off exchange transaction, date of the entering into an agreement. The date on which threshold is crossed should normally be the date on which the acquisition, disposal or possibility to exercise voting rights takes effect (see DTR 5.1.1R (3)). For passive crossings, the date when the corporate event took effect. (vi) Please refer to the situation disclosed in the previous notification, In case the situation previous to the triggering transaction was below 3%, please state 'below 3%'. (vii) If the holding has fallen below the minimum threshold , the notifying party should not be obliged to disclose the extent of the holding, only that the new holding is less than 3%. For the case provided for in DTR5.2.1(a), there should be no disclosure of individual holdings per party to the agreement unless a party individually crosses or reaches an Article 9 threshold. This applies upon entering into, introducing changes to or terminating an agreement. (viii) Direct and indirect (ix) In case of combined holdings of shares with voting rights attached 'direct holding' and voting rights 'indirect holdings', please split the voting rights number and percentage into the direct and indirect columns-if there is no combined holdings, please leave the relevant box blank. (x) Voting rights to shares in respect of which the notifying party is a direct shareholder (DTR 5.1) (xi) Voting rights held by the notifying party as an indirect shareholder (DTR 5.2.1) (xii) If the holding has fallen below the minimum threshold, the notifying party should not be obliged to disclose the extent of the holding, only that the new holding is below 3%. (xiii) date of maturity / expiration of the finical instrument i.e. the date when the right to acquire shares ends. (xiv) If the financial instrument has such a period-please specify the period- for example once every three months starting from the (date) (xv) The notification should include the name(s) of the controlled undertakings through which the voting rights are held. The notification should also include the amount of voting rights and the percentage held by each controlled undertaking, insofar as individually the controlled undertaking holds 5% or more, and insofar as the notification by the parent undertaking is intended to cover the notification obligations of the controlled undertaking. (xvi ) This annex is only to be filed with the competent authority. (xvii) Whenever another person makes the notification on behalf of the shareholder or the natural person/legal entity referred to in DTR5.2 and DTR5.3 This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock Exchange

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WH Smith (SMWH)
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