Interim Management Statement

25 April 2013

Berendsen plc

Interim Management Statement

The Board of Berendsen plc ("the Group'') today issues its interim management statement for the period from 1 January 2013 prior to its Annual General Meeting today at 11.00am.

Trading in the first three months of the year was in line with expectations. Our reported revenue was up 5% for the Group compared to the equivalent period last year and up 8% in our Core Growth businesses. Excluding the benefit of foreign currency exchange and the acquisitions we made last year, revenue for the Group was up 2% and in our Core Growth businesses it was up 3%. We delivered an encouraging improvement in operating margin in the first quarter of the year and with lower interest costs due to our strong cash flow, our reported profit before tax for the quarter was well ahead of last year.

We are pleased with the progress of our Business Line teams. In our Core Growth businesses, Workwear continued to make good progress overall. The UK and Germany, where we have the most opportunity to improve margins by transfer of best practice, contributed well to the growth in operating profit. Facility benefitted from the positive contribution of the acquisitions we made last year, although underlying growth was held back by a weaker market in Denmark. We saw higher levels of revenue growth in our UK Flat Linen business than in 2012. Revenue was down in our Manage for Value businesses, as expected, but they are responding well to the challenges of improving efficiency and generating cash.

There has been no significant change in Berendsen's financial position during the period. Our free cash flow was strong, with conversion of our profit after tax into free cash flow at over 100%. As a result, net debt is slightly lower than at the start of the year, notwithstanding an adverse currency translation. With our strong cash flow and committed funding, the majority of which extends to 2016 or beyond, we are well positioned to support our growth initiatives.

We have made a good start to the current year with trading in line with expectations and the Board continues to expect to achieve another year of good progress.

Conference Call

A conference call for analysts and investors will be held at 8.00am (UK time) today to discuss this statement.

For further information contact:

Note:

1. Berendsen plc is a focused European textile maintenance business with leading positions in most of the countries in which it operates. As a focused business we are able to mobilise our resources to drive our strategies in our core area of expertise.

2. All financial information sourced from management accounts; operating profit and earnings per share stated before exceptional items and amortisation of customer contracts and intellectual property rights.

3. Statements made in this announcement that look forward in time or that express management's beliefs, expectations or estimates regarding future occurrences are "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the United States federal securities laws. These forward-looking statements reflect the Group's current expectations concerning future events and actual results may differ materially from current expectations or historical results.