Sale of Swallow Inns and Restaurants Agreed

Whitbread PLC
16 May 2000


  WHITBREAD AGREES SALE OF SWALLOW INNS AND RESTAURANTS

Whitbread PLC ('Whitbread') today announces that it has
conditionally agreed to sell Swallow Inns and Restaurants
to Enterprise Inns plc ('Enterprise').  The consideration
is £119 million payable in cash at completion less an
adjustment for net working capital of approximately £4
million.  The transaction is subject to the approval of
Enterprise's shareholders and completion is expected to
take place at the beginning of June 2000.

The Swallow Inns and Restaurants estate, which comprises
183 pubs including 145 managed and 38 tenanted pubs
supported by a head office infrastructure, was put up for
sale in February of this year. The estate was formerly
part of Swallow group that Whitbread purchased in January
in the largest deal that the hospitality group has ever
done. Since that time, Whitbread has announced that some
27 Swallow hotels will be rebranded under the Marriott
name, for a total investment of £50m, with work being
completed in August 2001.

Julie Murphy, Whitbread's Strategic Planning Manager,
said that the deal with Enterprise delivered the optimum
price in the best time frame. 'We made it very clear at
the time of our bid for Swallow that we intended to sell
the Inns and Restaurants business this year. The deal
with Enterprise Inns delivers against our objectives, and
realises the full value of the estate, which includes
some 14 pubs that we have retained.'

16 May 2000

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