Holding(s) in Company

Compass Group PLC
23 December 2002


                  DEALINGS BY SUBSTANTIAL SHAREHOLDERS


1)   NAME OF COMPANY

     COMPASS GROUP PLC

2)   NAME OF SHAREHOLDER HAVING A MAJOR INTEREST

     FMR CORP & ITS DIRECT AND INDIRECT SUBSIDIARIES & FIDELITY INTERNATIONAL
     LIMITED & ITS DIRECT AND INDIRECT SUBSIDIARIES

3)   Please state whether notification indicates that it is in respect of 
     holding of the Shareholder named in 2 above or 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 LETTER BELOW

4)   Name of the registered holder(s) and, if more than one holder, the 
     number of shares held by each of them.

     SEE LETTER BELOW

5)   Number of shares/amount of stock acquired.

     N/A

6)   (N/A%) of issued Class

7)   Number of shares/amount of stock disposed

     N/A

8)   (N/A%) of issued Class

9)   Class of security

     ORDINARY SHARES OF 10 PENCE EACH

10)  Date of transaction

     ON OR BEFORE 11 DECEMBER 2002

11)  Date company informed

     23 DECEMBER 2002

12)  Total holding following this notification

     67,658,276
               
13)  Total percentage holding of issued class following this notification

     3.03%

14)  Any additional information

     SEE LETTER BELOW

15)  Name of contact and telephone number for queries

     ANDREW V DERHAM     
     TEL: [phone]

16)  Name and signature of authorised company official responsible for 
     making this notification

     Date of Notification ....23 DECEMBER 2002....................




Letter to Compass Group Plc
December 11, 2002


         NOTIFICATIONS UNDER SECTIONS 198 TO 202 - - U.K. COMPANIES ACT

1. Company in which shares are held:     Compass Group Plc

2. Notifiable Interest:       Ordinary Shares

   (A)   FMR Corp.
         82 Devonshire Street 
         Boston, MA 02109

         Parent holding company of Fidelity Management & Research Company 
         (FMRCO), investment manager for US mutual funds, and Fidelity 
         Management Trust Company (FMTC), a US state chartered bank which acts 
         as a trustee or investment manager of various pension and trust 
         accounts. (See Schedule A for listing of Registered Shareholders and 
         their holdings).

   (B)   Fidelity International Limited (FIL) 
         P.O. Box HM 670 
         Hamilton HMCX, Bermuda

         Parent holding company for various direct and indirect subsidiaries, 
         including Fidelity Investment Services Ltd, (FISL) and Fidelity Pension 
         Management (FPM), investment managers for various non-US investment 
         companies and institutional clients. (See Schedule A for listing of 
         Registered Shareholders and their holdings.)

3. The notifiable interests also comprise the notifiable interest of:

         Mr. Edward C. Johnson 3d 
         82 Devonshire Street 
         Boston, MA 02109

   A principal shareholder of FMR Corp. and Fidelity International Limited.

4. The notifiable interests include interest held on behalf of authorized unit
   trust schemes in the U.K., notwithstanding the exemption from reporting 
   pursuant to Section 209 (l)(h) of the Companies Act 1985.

5. These notifications of disclosable interests constitute separate
   notifications of interest in the shares and are combined solely for the 
   purposes of clarity. Nothing herein should be taken to indicate that FMR 
   Corp, and its direct and indirect subsidiaries, Fidelity International 
   Limited and its direct and indirect subsidiaries or Mr. Edward C. Johnson 3d 
   act as a group or in concert in respect of the disclosed interests, or that 
   they are required to submit these notifications on a joint basis.

6. The disclosable interests arise under section 208 (4) (b) of the Act, namely
   where a person, not being the registered holder, is entitled to exercise a 
   right conferred by the holding of the shares or to control the exercise of 
   such rights, or under section 203 of the Act respectively. 



Schedule A

Security: Compass Group Plc

                             Management
               Shares Held    Company     Nominee/Registered Name 
(Ordinary Shares)       

                    12,080     FMRCO   State Street Nominees Limited
                 1,174,870      FMTC   State Street Nominees Ltd.
                 1,050,796      FMTC   Lloyds Bank Nominees Limited
                   292,753      FMTC   Bankers Trust
                   342,874      FMTC   Chase Nominees Ltd.
                 1,001,187      FMTC   Northern Trust
                 1,968,009      FMTC   State Street Bank & Trust
                 1,106,444      FMTC   Mellon Trust
                   380,274      FMTC   JP Morgan
                   101,717      FMTC   Royal Trust
                    96,300      FMTC   Bank of New York, Europe
                    74,020      FMTC   HSBC
                     1,000      FMTC   Brown Brothers Harriman
                   115,500      FMTC   National Cities
                 8,540,837      FISL   Chase Manhattan Bank London
                 1,854,386      FISL   Chase Nominees Ltd
                 1,830,167       FPM   Bank of New York London
                   131,100       FPM   Mellon Nominees Ltd
                    14,600       FPM   Credit Suisse FST BOS Zurich
                   390,775       FPM   HSBC
                 2,558,740       FPM   Chase Nominees Ltd
                   487,991       FPM   Citibank
                 1,672,737       FPM   Northern Trust
                   154,994       FPM   Deutsche Bank
                 5,061,902       FIL   Chase Nominees Ltd
                 7,186,823       FIL   Bank of New York - London
                12,387,094       FIL   HSBC Client Holdings Nominee (UK) Limited
                 1,890,968       FIL   Chase Manhattan Bank London
                 1,077,953       FIL   Deutsche Bank
                 5,258,362       FIL   Northern Trust
                 2,221,157       FIL   State Street Bank & Trust
                 1,654,900       FIL   JP Morgan
                   236,815       FIL   Citibank
                    18,132       FIL   Daiwa Trust Bank
                    92,600       FIL   Mellon Nominees Ltd
                   460,700       FIL   State Street Nominees Ltd
                 1,153,066       FIL   Bank of New York Brussels
                    46,490       FIL   Master Trust Bank of Japan
                    21,900       FIL   Japan Trustee Svcs Bk Lt
                   106,102       FIL   National Australia Bank
                    10,500       FIL   PICG
                    39,400       FIL   Chase Manhattan Bank AG Frankfurt
                 2,135,790       FIL   Nortrust Nominees Ltd
                   609,283       FIL   Morgan Stanley
                   215,683       FIL   Bank of Bermuda
                   377,088       FIL   Bankers Trust
                    18,797       FIL   Mitsubishi Trust
                    22,620       FIL   Chun Trust Bank


Total Ordinary Shares            67,658,276 

Current ownership percentage:    3.03%

Shares in issue:                 2,235,205,185



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