Disposal

Whitbread PLC
7 May 2002


7th May 2002


Whitbread agrees sale of Curzons


Whitbread, the leisure business, has agreed the sale of Curzons Management
Associates Limited, the operator of its Curzons the Gym fitness club brand to
Fitness First plc for £6m.

The sale of 12 central London health and fitness clubs under the Curzons name is
in line with Whitbread's strategy of driving growth from the premium sector of
the UK fitness market, where its David Lloyd Leisure brand is the clear leader.

Whitbread acquired Curzons in 1997, when it consisted of just four clubs, adding
another eight sites over the next two years.

The £6m cash consideration is subject to adjustment for working capital.

In 2001 the company unveiled plans to grow David Lloyd Leisure to 100 clubs and
last week officially opened its 49th club, at Nonsuch High School for Girls in
Cheam, Surrey.

David Lloyd Leisure continues to set the pace for UK health and fitness, and
last week (as part of Whitbread PLC's preliminary results announcement) reported
16 per cent like-for-like sales growth, member retention levels running 13 per
cent above the industry average and a significant improvement in return on
capital.

Whitbread remains the UK's biggest health and fitness club operator with over
320,000 members across its 49 David Lloyd Leisure clubs (comprising over 261,000
members) and 51 Marriott Hotels leisure clubs.


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                      This information is provided by RNS
            The company news service from the London Stock Exchange