RNS Number:0087O
De Vere Group PLC
28 July 2003



Monday, July 28, 2003

                               DE VERE GROUP PLC

                  CARL LEAVER APPOINTED AS NEW CHIEF EXECUTIVE


De Vere Group Plc, the hotels and health & fitness operator, today announces the
appointment of Carl Leaver as Chief Executive Officer, taking over from Paul
Dermody who, as was announced at the interim results, is retiring.


Carl Leaver, 35, joins De Vere from Whitbread Plc, where he has been Managing
Director of Travel Inn for the past three years.   Prior to this he was
Operations Director, Marriott Country Clubs and has held various other positions
with companies including Nomura, Forte and Mars.  He joins De Vere on 1st
September 2003.


Peter Daresbury, Chairman, commented:


"We are delighted that an executive of Carl Leaver's quality and background is
joining De Vere.   He is highly regarded in our industry, and with his
background in managing golf resort hotels and driving a rapid rollout of the
largest hotel brand in the UK, brings the right blend of experience and dynamism
to take the Group forward to the next level.



"On behalf of the Board I would like to take this opportunity to thank Paul
Dermody for his significant contribution to the Group over the past 40 years, in
particular during his three and a half years as Chief Executive, overseeing the
transformation of the group, during which time De Vere has consistently
outperformed the hotel market."



Carl Leaver commented:



"Having long admired De Vere for its strong brands and committed team, I am
extremely excited by this opportunity.  The company's performance has been at
the very top of the industry, providing a stable platform from which to drive
shareholder value."



There are no details to be disclosed in connection with Rule 16.4 of the Listing
Rules of the UK Listing Authority.



Enquiries:


Peter Daresbury            Chairman, De Vere Group Plc             01925 740427
Jonathan Glass             Brunswick                               020 7404 5959



High resolution photographs are available for the media on www.newscast.co.uk




Biography of Carl Leaver:



Carl Leaver, 35, joins De Vere from Whitbread Plc where he held the position of
Managing Director of Travel Inn, the group's high growth budget hotel chain
since 2000. Under his leadership, Travel Inn added 5,000 rooms to become the
UK's largest hotel brand.  At the same time, like-for-like sales increased by an
average of around 5% p.a. and operating profit grew 33% over the period to #67m.



Carl moved to Travel Inn from within Whitbread where he previously held the
position of Operations Director of Marriott Country Clubs. Here he developed a
step change strategy to boost business performance in the conference segment.
His previous role was as General Manager of the 380-bedroom Slough/Windsor
Marriott.



Carl also worked for the investment bank Nomura International plc between 1995
and 1997, following two years at Forte plc between 1992 and 1994.  He graduated
in law from Nottingham University and started his career with Mars as a business
planner.





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