AGM Statement

Power Leisure PLC
27 March 2001


Trading Statement at Annual General Meeting of Shareholders on
27 March 2001

At this morning's AGM the Finance Director of Power Leisure
plc, trading as Paddy Power, the leading bookmaker in Ireland
with on-line interactive betting services in both Ireland and
the UK, made the following statement:

Since the beginning of this year 2001 a number of important
developments relevant to your Company have occurred.

As you are aware, a substantial proportion of the Company's
turnover is derived from bets placed on Irish and UK horse and
dog racing events.  Foot and Mouth Disease was first recorded
on 20 February 2001 in the UK and was announced the following
day by the UK government. The disease has escalated
substantially in the UK since then and one case of infection
was reported in Ireland on 22 March 2001.

The disease outbreak resulted in the suspension of horse
racing in the UK and Ireland on 28 February 2001. Greyhound
racing in Ireland was also suspended on 28 February 2001.
Horse racing recommenced in the UK on 7 March 2001, although a
number of racecourses remain closed, and has yet to recommence
in Ireland.

Alternative live horse racing events were provided to licensed
betting offices by SIS within a few days of UK and Irish race
meetings being cancelled. These events are partial substitutes
for our customers racing preferences.

Our turnover to 7 March 2001 this year has been materially
adversely affected by the cancellation of horse and dog racing
events. Turnover, during the first eleven full weeks of
trading to 20 March 2001, recorded in our LBOs and telephone
betting operation is nevertheless less than 2% below that
achieved by the Company in the same period last year.  On a
like for like basis the reduction in turnover in our LBOs was
2.4%. Our aggregate gross margin earned from those operations
during the first 11 full weeks of trading in 2001 is
marginally greater than that earned in the same period last
year.  While earnings expectations for 2001 for these
operations are not adversely affected to date, they are
difficult to reaffirm in the light of continuing uncertainty
resulting from foot and mouth disease.

On a substantially more positive note, it has been announced
that betting duty will be abolished with effect from 1 January
2002 in the UK and replaced with a gross profits tax
chargeable at a rate of 15%.  This is a very positive
development for your Company in the context of the launch of
our UK-based online interactive betting services.  It is now
less likely that your company will set up operations in an
offshore tax-free location but will rather seek to locate such
non-LBO operations in the UK.

Our UK-based internet betting service, paddypower.co.uk was
initiated on 3 March 2001 and was followed by our ntl cable-
based interactive TV service on 19 March 2001.  We expect to
initiate our Telewest cable-based interactive TV service in
the next two months. Initial marketing to support the launch
of these services via a range of advertising and PR
initiatives in the UK has commenced.

At 20 March 2001 we had achieved 16,137 account registrations
(up 30% from 31 December 2000) to our paddypower.com betting
service of which 6,515 (up 29% from 31 December 2000) were
active accounts.  Active accounts are defined as those that
have placed a bet with us in the last three months. Turnover
in our online operation has been adversely affected by the
consequences of foot and mouth disease but not to the same
extent as our traditional businesses.

Putting these developments in the year to date into
perspective, we believe that the prospective positive benefits
of the tax reduction in the UK from 2002 outweigh any negative
impact likely to arise from the spread of foot and mouth
disease.


For reference

Stewart Kenny                             Peter O'Grady Walshe
Chief Executive, Power Leisure plc        Finance Director, Power Leisure plc
Tel: [phone]                      Tel: [phone]

Issued of behalf of Power Leisure plc
By: Drury Communications Ltd                   College Hill
Contact: Mark Cahalane, Marie Therese Duffy    Michael Padley
Tel: [phone]                           Tel: [phone]