14th Apr 2005 15:06
Whitbread PLC14 April 2005 14th April 2005 WHITBREAD APPOINTS NEW CHAIRMAN Whitbread PLC announces that it has appointed Anthony Habgood as ChairmanDesignate. He will take over the role of Chairman from Sir John Banham when heretires from the Whitbread PLC Board in August 2005. Sir John who will be 65 in August, has been a director of Whitbread for sixyears and Chairman for five years. He has decided to retire from the Boardhaving successfully overseen the transformation of Whitbread to be the leadinghospitality company in the UK. Anthony Habgood, 58, is currently Chairman of Bunzl PLC. Prior to joiningBunzl PLC he was at Tootal Group PLC for 5 years and before that spent 16 yearswith Boston Consulting Group Inc. He is also a non executive director of Marks& Spencer plc and SVG Capital plc. Anthony Habgood will remain as Chairman of Bunzl PLC. It is anticipated thatfollowing the demerger of its Filtrona business Bunzl PLC will no longer be partof the FTSE 100 index. Sir John Banham, Chairman, Whitbread PLC said: "An exciting new chapter inWhitbread's history is opening and this is the right time for a new Chairman tojoin. I am delighted that Tony has agreed to become our Chairman. He brings tothe role a wealth of relevant experience and a great track record in creatingshareholder value". Alan Parker, Chief Executive, Whitbread PLC added: "I would like to thank SirJohn for his enormous contribution to the company over the last six years whichhas seen substantial growth in total shareholder returns. "Whitbread is in good shape for the future. We have a strong platform to buildupon in the three sectors of the leisure and hospitality market where we haveleading positions: budget hotels, restaurants and health and fitness clubs. Iam looking forward to working with Tony to deliver our strategy". Anthony Habgood will join the Whitbread Board on 1st May 2005 as a non-executivedirector before assuming the role of Chairman on 1st August 2005. For more information please contact: Investor Relations:Dan Waugh, Whitbread PLC +44 (0) 20 7806 5442 +44 (0) 7799 581763 (m)Press Contacts: Anna Glover, Whitbread PLC +44 (0) 7747 766958 (m)Julie Weldon, Whitbread PLC +44 (0) 1582 396 745 This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock ExchangeRelated Shares:
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