News release

Regus Cuts IT Costs by 40%

As part of the radical restructuring of its global business, Regus, the world's leading provider of serviced office accommodation, has struck a landmark deal with three top international technology suppliers to outsource its core IT support and infrastructure requirements across its 390 business centers in 50 countries.

In a US $36 million deal, Regus is working with Compaq (NYSE: CPQ), as its lead supplier, and COLT Telecom and Cedar, to outsource the management of its global data center, local and wide area networks, hardware infrastructure, operating systems, help desk & engineering support, business continuity and e-business applications. Regus will house the core of the new outsourcing team at its business center at Bristol Temple Quay in the UK.

Mark Dixon, CEO of Regus, commented: "This is a great deal for Regus and a great deal for our customers. This outsourcing deal means that we double our service levels, while reducing costs by almost 40 percent. We also gain a technology platform through which a broad range of new products and services will be delivered to Regus customers."

Rene Schuster, chief executive, Compaq UK and Ireland, said, "Regus is taking some revolutionary steps in developing its business for the future. In outsourcing its IT requirements to Compaq, Regus has ensured the delivery of consistent and quality services to their customers. This agreement also symbolizes a move towards a more complete working partnership with a focus on providing business development projects for Regus and its clients."

President & CEO of COLT Telecom, Peter Manning, said, "Our success with Regus reflects COLT's capability as a pan-European total solutions provider for high-grade IT outsourcing. The scale and geographical spread of the Regus operation represented a real challenge. I am delighted that by developing a close and flexible relationship, COLT has met Regus' demanding requirements—on time and on budget."

Mike Harrison, CEO of Cedar, commented, "We have been working with Regus strategically for the last two years developing and implementing their enterprise solutions for HR, finance and sales. We are delighted to extend our service to the ongoing management of these core business systems. We are sure that this will be a strong partnership and one that will add value to Regus and its clients. We look forward to working with Regus over the coming years in the development and growth of their business."

Represented in 180 cities in 50 countries, Regus is the global leader in supplying fully serviced offices. Offering 85,000 workstations in more than 390 prestigious locations, it is also a market leader in providing meeting rooms, conference and training facilities and public access videoconferencing studios.

About COLT

COLT Telecom Group plc is a leading provider of high bandwidth data, voice and advanced telecommunication services to business and governmental customers in Europe. It currently has operations in 31 European cities in thirteen countries, and plans to be providing services in 32 cities by the end of 2001. The EuroLAN is a 15,000 route kilometre network that provides international high capacity fibre-optic links between COLT city networks. Currently over 12,000 route kilometres have been lit. In addition COLT provides Internet connectivity, Internet hosting and enables application services in 11 European countries, with a backbone reaching into the US and more than 450 peering agreements. COLT Internet Solution Centres (ISCs) have been built in 16 cities totalling more than 1 million square feet (86,000 square metres) of hosting space.

During the year ended December 2000 turnover was £640.8 million and it carried 15.8 billion switched minutes of traffic. During the quarter ended September 2001 turnover rose 39 percent to £231.4 million.

COLT Telecom Group plc is listed on the London Stock Exchange (CTM.L) and Nasdaq (COLT). Information about COLT and its products and services can be found on the Web at www.colt.net.

About Cedar

Cedar plc is a global enterprise software, consulting and services organization. Through its combination of applications and collaborative partnerships Cedar enhances and extends the business benefits gained from enterprise applications. Employing over 1,000 people in 45 offices throughout North America, Europe and Asia Pacific and headquartered in the UK, Cedar provides solutions for the management of customers, knowledge and resources.

About Compaq

Founded in 1982, Compaq Computer Corporation is a leading global provider of enterprise technology and solutions. Compaq designs, develops, manufactures and markets hardware, software, solutions and services, including industry-leading enterprise storage and computing solutions, fault-tolerant business-critical solutions, communication products, and desktop and portable personal computers that are sold in more than 200 countries. Information on Compaq and its products and services is available at http://www.compaq.com.