Bristol International Airport

FirstGroup PLC
29 August 2000


FirstGroup plc

Sale of Bristol International Airport (BIA) moves on to next stage


Expressions of interest to purchase all or part of BIA have today been invited
by Arthur Andersen Corporate Finance who are acting on behalf of Bristol City
Council. FirstGroup, which owns 51% of BIA, announced its intention to sell
its shareholding on 16 May and has already received a number of indicative
bids. The deadline for registration of interest with Arthur Andersen is 13
September.

Moir Lockhead Chief Executive of FirstGroup said:

'We are pleased that the process has moved to the next stage and we already
have a number of bidders who are reviewing the information available. We look
forward to being able to select preferred bidders as quickly as possible.'

Contacts:

FirstGroup       
Moir Lockhead Group Chief Executive                     01224 650102
Michael Mitchell Corporate Communications Director      020 7291 0504

Arthur Andersen Corporate Finance
Geoff Clark                                             020 7489 6184