New nurseries and international school in China

Nord Anglia has signed a Memorandum with Gemdale Corporation ("Gemdale"), a listed Chinese property development company, under which Gemdale will build three Chinese nurseries and one International School for Nord Anglia. Nord Anglia will own and operate the businesses. Under the terms of the deal, the following facilities will be developed:

• A 240-place Chinese nursery in the Pudong area of Shanghai, planned to open in September 2006
• A 1200-place International school in the Nan Xiang area of Shanghai, planned to open in September 2007
• A 240-place Chinese nursery for development in Nan Xiang area of Shanghai, planned to open September 2007
• A 400-place Chinese nursery in Ningbo city, planned to open in September 2007

Andrew Fitzmaurice, Nord Anglia Chief Executive, comments:

"I am particularly excited by this opportunity to expand further our presence in China, at a time when our existing business there continues to thrive, with pupil registrations at both our existing Puxi and Pudong campuses ahead of target. In particular, the nursery deals mark our entry into the education of Chinese nationals – an enormous market, with over 100 million children in the 0-6 age range alone.

"Following last month´s announcement of an extension to our Pudong campus in September 2007, the new Nan Xiang school will increase our International school capacity in Shanghai from its current 1,500 places to 3,400 places. Nord Anglia is building a significant education business in the fast growing Asian market, both in international schools and in nurseries, and we expect to announce further expansion plans in the region in the near future."

11 April 2006