Review of Stewardship of ESOT

Macfarlane Group PLC 10 April 2000 Macfarlane Group PLC announces that following a review of the arrangements for the stewardship of its existing Employee Share Ownership Trust ('ESOT') it has been determined that the trustees should be independent of the trust and have no technical interest therein. As a result John Ward and John Love, Chairman and Finance Director respectively have today resigned as trustees following the appointment of a number of new additional trustees to administer the ESOT. The ESOT currently holds 444,257 ordinary shares of 25p each in Macfarlane Group PLC.