Awarded Contract at Pentagon

Compass Group PLC
13 August 2001
                                                                13 August 2001


COMPASS GROUP PLC

COMPASS GROUP AWARDED £120 MILLION CONTRACT AT THE PENTAGON

Eurest Support Services, the defence, offshore and remote site subsidiary of
Compass Group, has been awarded a 17 year contract with the Navy Exchange
Service Command (NEXCOM(1)) to provide foodservice at the Pentagon in
Washington, DC from Autumn 2001. Total anticipated sales for the period of the
contract are over £120 million ($170 million).

The contract will provide foodservice throughout the Pentagon and will provide
foodservice for 26,000 personnel.   Research with Navy customers has shown
that people want name brand fast foods.  Eurest will therefore offer food
courts supplemented with national brands such as Au Bon Pain, Manchu Wok and
Sbarro's.  In addition Eurest will provide catered services for special
occasions and events.


In January 2000, Eurest Support Services was awarded a £70 million ($120
million) 10-year contract with NEXCOM to operate food courts and provide
catering for over 270,000 personnel, initially at six major bases in the
United States and two in Italy.  The contract has now grown significantly and
Eurest operates at 22 bases for NEXCOM.



Commenting on this contract win, Gary Green, Chief Executive of Compass
Group's North American Division, said: 'We are delighted to once again be
working with NEXCOM and look forward to providing a high quality offer to all
of the customers in the Pentagon.  We believe that this high profile contract
win is a further testament to our ability to provide a wide range of
foodservice.



'We continue to see fantastic opportunities to grow our business in North
America.  We are delighted to add this prestigious client to our portfolio and
look forward to working with NEXCOM to deliver outstanding service to our new
customers.'

                                     Ends


Enquiries:

Cathi Lawrence, Corporate Communications Director, Compass Group PLC

Tel: [phone]



Nick Lyon / Wendy Baker, Hudson Sandler

Tel: [phone]


Notes to Editors



1.  Compass Group is the world's largest foodservice company
employing over 265,000 people in over 90 countries and with annual revenues in
excess of £8.3bn. Compass Group provides catering for clients including major
employers, educational establishments, hospitals, leisure venues, retail
locations and at major airports and stations throughout USA, Europe, and
developing markets in Asia and South America.  It operates through
sector-specific subsidiaries such as Eurest, the world's largest specialist in
providing foodservice to business and industry clients. Further information on
the Group can be found at www.compass-group.com



2.   Eurest Support Services, a subsidiary of Compass Group, is
the international market leader in the offshore, remote site and defence
markets.



3.   The Pentagon is the World's largest federal office
building and houses the US Department of Defense.  The Pentagon is located in
Washington, DC.

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(1) NEXCOM is the non-profit organisation which acts on behalf of the US Navy
for the management of all support services.