Governance

Messrs Hornsby, Marchbank and Roach, who are US citizens, participate in the defined contribution pension arrangements of Ferguson Enterprises, Inc. Messrs Marchbank and Roach received contributions at the level of 23 per cent of their base salary and Mr Hornsby at a level of 20 per cent. Bonus is not included in the calculation of pension contributions. The following table shows those Executive Directors participating in defined contribution pension plans and the cost of the Group's contributions thereto:

Brossette, a French subsidiary undertaking, has a commitment to a former Director, who is a French citizen, to pay an annual pension of €228,891 (2007: €225,597), with a widow's entitlement of 60 per cent, subject to an annual increase based on the agreed French pension index. The full actuarial cost of this arrangement was provided in previous years as part of Brossette's ongoing pension obligations. The Company is guarantor of this future pension commitment which at 31 July 2008 was approximately £2.3 million (2007: £2.2 million).

The table below shows the Executive Director in office on 31 July 2008 who participated during the year in the Group's defined benefit schemes and the amount of benefit accrued at the end of the year as if the Director had left service on 31 July 2008, the change in accrued benefit over the year, the transfer value at both the beginning and end of the year as well as the change in the transfer value over the year as required by the Directors' Remuneration Report Regulations 2002. The increase in transfer value figures represents an obligation on the pension fund or the Company – they are not sums due or paid to the Director. The Listing Rules of the UK Listing Authority require additional disclosure of the change in accrued benefit net of inflation and the transfer value of this change. These pension liabilities are calculated using the cash equivalent transfer value method prescribed in the Listing Rules.

Pensions