London 30 July 2001 - Bass PLC shareholders have approved the company's name change to Six Continents PLC. What was formerly Bass Hotels & Resorts, will be known from today as Six Continents Hotels. The change, which comes into effect today, was approved by shareholders at an Extraordinary General Meeting on July 20, 2001.

The name Bass and the red triangle trademark were sold with the Bass Brewers business to Interbrew in August last year. A condition of the sale was that Bass ceases using the name by 21 August, 2002.

Six Continents was selected for its representation of the global spread and aspirations of the group, which operates over 3,200 hotels and resorts in close to 100 countries and territories, across six continents with the Inter-Continental, Crowne Plaza, Holiday Inn, Express by Holiday Inn and Staybridge Suites brands.

The new Six Continents symbol has been designed to reinforce the name in a manner that is clear and distinctive.

Notes to Editors:

In April 2001, Six Continents PLC (formerly Bass PLC) acquired the entire business of Posthouse from Compass Group PLC. The consideration for the purchase was £810 million, in cash. Posthouse consists of 79 mid-scale hotels with 12,300 rooms, 78 of which are located in the UK, and one in Ireland. Six Continents Hotels plan to upgrade the majority of these properties to its Holiday Inn brand, making Holiday Inn the leading mid-market brand in the UK.