US Navy Awards £70m Contract

Compass Group PLC
24 January 2000

                                       
                               COMPASS GROUP PLC
                                       
                      US NAVY AWARDS £70 MILLION CONTRACT


Eurest Support Services, the defence, offshore and remote site subsidiary of
Compass Group, has been awarded a 10-year contract with Naval Exchange Service
Command, or NEXCOM1, to operate food courts in North America.  This contract
has total sales of over £70 million ($120 million) with the opportunity to add
further sites.

The contract will cover six major bases in the United States and two in Italy,
and will provide catering for over 270,000 personnel. Eurest will begin
operations in April at Naval Station Mayport, Florida which has a customer
base of more than 48,000, including personnel on the base and retired
personnel in the community.  In addition, Eurest will begin operations this
year at the following bases, Jacksonville and Penscola in Florida with a
customer base of 66,000 and 68,000 respectively; Patuxent River, Maryland with
a customer base of 18,000; and Norfolk, Virginia, with a customer base of
72,000.

Eurest reviewed the demographic data for each base to determine which
foodservice brands it should offer.  It is anticipated that the sites will
feature national brands such as Pizza Hut, Dunkin Donuts, Burger King, Sbarro
and Blimpies.  In addition, Eurest will install Compass Group's Profiles offer
at many of the bases providing high quality food and a wide choice to
customers with an emphasis on freshness, service and presentation.

Commenting on this contract win, Gary Green, Chief Executive Officer, North
America Division said: 'I believe our ability to meet the logistical
challenges of a large scale contract and our wide range of foodservice brands
helped in the success of our tender.  We are delighted to be working with the
US Navy and NEXCOM to provide a high quality offer to all of their customers.'

Enquiries:
Cathi Lawrence, Corporate Communications Director, Compass Group PLC
Tel: [phone]

Nick Lyon / Wendy Baker, Hudson Sandler
Tel: [phone]


Notes to Editors:
Compass Group is the world's largest foodservice organisation with over
190,000 employees in over 75 countries worldwide. Eurest Support Services, a
subsidiary of Compass Group, is now the international market leader in the
offshore, remote site and defence markets.
Website:  www.compass-group.com
_______________________________

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