Acquisition of Ma Foi, India’s largest staffing and HR outsourcing company

Acquisition of Active Plus, one of the leading staffing providers in Poland to complement established Polish network

Expansion in fast growing Portuguese market with acquisition of call- centre staffing specialist, Platoforma

Zach Miles, Chief Executive said, “With its established international presence, these acquisitions enable Vedior to take further advantage of important global employment trends.

“Ma Foi provides Vedior with access to a rapidly growing staffing and business process outsourcing market in India as well as a vital source of highly qualified personnel recognised in international markets.

With the support of Vedior’s experienced management team, Active Plus will be able to expand and diversify to take advantage of positive trends in the Polish staffing market as well as opportunities presented through enlargement of the European Union.

Platoforma in Portugal increases Vedior’s presence in teleservices staffing which has been one of the best performing sectors for the Group in recent years.

Vedior’s acquisition strategy provides increasing diversity which enables the Group to better minimise the impact of economic cyclicality.”

Ma Foi, India

Vedior is pleased to announce it has acquired an initial 76% interest in Ma Foi Management Consultants Limited (“Ma Foi”), the market leader in staffing services and HR outsourcing in India.

Over 80% of Ma Foi’s sales are derived from the provision of specialist temporary and permanent personnel in the IT, engineering, accounting and teleservices staffing sectors as well as executive search. However, the Company also played a leading role in pioneering HR outsourcing in India and currently provides a portfolio of sophisticated and complementary HR consulting services within a wide range of industries including pharmaceuticals, IT and telecommunications, food and beverages, manufacturing, logistics and supply chain management. The Company has grown quickly with an excellent reputation and has exciting long-term growth prospects given its leading market position and expertise in fulfilling the HR needs of companies looking to take advantage of outsourcing opportunities in the Indian sub- continent.

Headquartered in Chennai, Ma Foi has 31 offices throughout India as well as overseas locations in London, Dubai, Singapore and Columbo. The Company achieved audited annual sales to 31December 2003 of Rs 785 million (approximately €16 million), more than double that of the prior year.

Established in 1992, Ma Foi has made a specialism of catering for the staffing and HR requirements of foreign companies looking to outsource services to India and its client base includes over 100 companies among the Fortune 500. Ma Foi is an ISO 9001: 2000 certified company and a member of NASSCOM (National Association of Software and Services companies).

Expansion into India adds an important and fast growing market to Vedior’s international network as well as increasing the proportion of sales the Group derives from niche specialist staffing. India is the world’s fourth largest economy with a labour force of 406 million people, nearly a quarter of which work in the service sector. India’s engineers, scientists, technicians and skilled personnel are among the best in the world and its education system produces well- qualified graduates in high numbers. Given long-term demographic trends, skills shortages are predicted to become increasingly severe among the world’s developed economies and Vedior’s ability to source qualified personnel from markets such as India provides it with a key competitive advantage.

Ma Foi’s existing management team will remain in place to develop the Company. The remaining 24% interest in Ma Foi will remain with management and certain employees of the Company with Vedior having the right to acquire these shares in due course.

Active Plus, Poland

Vedior is also pleased to announce that it has acquired an initial 70% interest in Active Plus Sp. z.o.o. (“Active Plus”), one of the leading providers of staffing services in Poland.

Active Plus’ largest sectors of operation are telebusiness, light industrial and office/clerical although the Company plans to expand into more higher margin specialist sectors including education and healthcare.

Headquartered in Warsaw, Active Plus also has offices in Lublin, Katowice and Poznan. The Company was founded in 1999 and achieved audited annual sales to 31 December 2003 of PLN 26 million (approximately €6 million).

The acquisition of Active Plus complements Vedior’s existing operations in Poland as well as its growing presence in Central Europe. Poland is the largest of the accession countries joining the European Union in May 2004.

Despite high levels of unemployment, 2004 forecasts for the Polish economy are very positive and it is anticipated that the domestic staffing industry will grow rapidly. The country will also be a source of candidates to meet skills shortages elsewhere in Europe. Vedior views Central Europe as an attractive market for growth given anticipated long-term skills shortages in Western Europe and the increasing potential for labour mobility. According to a survey conducted by the European Foundation for the Improvement of Living Conditions in 2004, two
thirds of prospective labour immigrants from Poland intend to work in other parts of the EU on a temporary basis.

Active Plus’ existing management team will remain in place to develop the Company. The remaining 30% interest in Active Plus will remain with management with Vedior having the right to acquire these shares in due course.

Platoforma, Portugal

Finally, Vedior is also pleased to announce that it has acquired a 100% interest in Platoforma Empresa de Trabalho Temporário Lda (“Platoforma”), a call-centre staffing specialist which complements Vedior’s successful and fast growing teleservices brand in Portugal. With a headquarters in Lisbon, Platoforma also provides personnel to call centres in Brazil and the Cape Verde Islands. Platoforma achieved audited annual sales to 31 December 2003 of €19 million.

Vedior has a global presence in the teleservices staffing niche which it provides in 22 countries.

Notes to Editors:

Vedior is one of the world’s leading staffing companies. The Group operates in 35 countries with a network of 2,243 offices worldwide including Europe, North America, Australasia, South Africa, South America and Asia. Vedior provides a broad range of staffing services through distinct brand names targeting specific sectors including traditional administrative/light industrial sectors and specialist sectors such as information technology, healthcare, accounting, engineering and education. We offer temporary staffing, permanent placement and other employment-related services.

For further information, please contact:

Zach Miles, Chief Executive

+31 (0)20 573 5609

Frits Vervoort, CFO

Jelle Miedema, Company Secretary