Britain's Ministry of Defence Chooses Sodexho to Provide Childcare Voucher Service for Armed Forces Personnel

Business Wire, Nov 19, 2007

PARIS -- Regulatory News:

Sodexho has been selected to provide a childcare voucher scheme to the UK's Ministry of Defence following a competitive tender process. The scheme will cover all Service personnel working for the Ministry of Defence, including reservists, whether they are working in the UK or posted overseas.

Approximately 200,000 regular personnel and 40,000 Reservists are eligible for the program. The Ministry of Defence estimates that eventually as many as 20,000 people might apply for the scheme which will be launched on December 10, 2007.

Childcare vouchers help working parents pay for childcare. The scheme being introduced for Armed Forces personnel will give participants the opportunity to change their salary so that they are paid in a combination of cash and childcare vouchers. Participants pay taxes and insurance contributions only on the cash portion of their salary. The vouchers can be used to pay for all or part of the costs of any registered childcare provider that the parents decide to use. If both parents claim, they can save up to PS2,390 (approximately EU3,340) a year.

Sodexho CEO, Michel Landel, said: "We are very proud to have won this contract. It is a great accomplishment that recognizes the creativity and dynamism of our Service Vouchers and Cards team in the UK."

SODEXHO ALLIANCE, founded in 1966 by Pierre Bellon, a world leader in Food and Facilities Management services, with more than 342,000 employees on 29,000 sites in 80 countries. For Fiscal 2007, which closed August 31, 2007, SODEXHO ALLIANCE had revenues of 13.4 billion euro. Listed on Euronext Paris, the Group's current market capitalization is more than 7.5 billion euro.

Sodexho's Service Vouchers and Cards activity develops a wide variety of secure, flexible and innovative solutions (including e-vouchers, swipe cards, smart cards and contactless cards), for its 310,000 customers and more than 20 million beneficiaries around the world through its 1 million affiliated partners. For Fiscal Year 2007, which ended August 31, 2007, Sodexho reported 20.1% organic revenue growth and an increase of 22.6% in operating profit for the activity. In the UK, in addition to its Food and Facilities Management services activity, Sodexho is a leading provider of voucher services, operating under the name Sodexho Pass UK.