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Discovery Holdings Limited - Discovery Vitality Gains Traction In The Uk PruHealth concludes UK gym deals DISCOVERY HOLDINGS LIMITED (Incorporated in the Republic of South Africa) (Registration number: 1999/007789/06) ISIN: ZAE000022331 Share Code: DSY ("Discovery" and "the Company") DISCOVERY VITALITY GAINS TRACTION IN THE UK PruHealth concludes UK gym deals Discovery Health is exporting its successful Vitality concept to the UK, through its joint venture with Prudential, called PruHealth. PruHealth launches early next year, but it has already concluded a series of partnerships with Cannons and Holmes Place, two of the UK"s largest gym chains. PruHealth members will be able to enjoy gym membership at significantly reduced rates, in the same way that Discovery Vitality members in South Africa have been able to exercise at unprecedented rates at leading gyms. Discovery, which has been at the forefront of a consumer driven healthcare system in South Africa, uses the same model for its business venture with PruHealth in the UK. Members are encouraged to take ownership of managing their health as a way of reducing healthcare costs. A method similar to the Vitality reward system is used, whereby members earn points for activities that are geared to improve their health through regular exercise and other healthy lifestyle behaviours. Adrian Gore, the CEO of Discovery said the joint venture presented his company with an opportunity to export his company"s unique business model and skills set. The PruHealth venture follows Discovery"s establishment of Destiny Health in Illinois in the US. Gore said contrary to the flight of skills to other countries, the company"s experiences with both Destiny Health and the deal with Prudential have shown that top-notch South African-based skills can be employed to gain access to other markets. Instead of losing talented and sought-after skills in this country, homegrown expertise has been used to establish a foothold in foreign markets. PruHealth will also use the Discovery call centre and operational infrastructure in South Africa to conduct its business, a sign of how this relationship can help create additional jobs in the local market. The call centre is already handling numerous enquiries from the US on behalf of Destiny Health. Discussing the UK opportunity, Catherine McGrath, CEO of PruHealth, said the GBP2.9 billion UK private medical insurance (PMI) market was ripe for a shakeout. She described the UK market as: "Stagnant, with a small number of big players bringing little in the way of innovation and maintaining an outdated model which, frankly, is little more than motor insurance for bodies". The current system revolves around paying for sickness, not promoting health and wellbeing. We are going to change that." She said PruHealth would energise the PMI market in the first quarter of 2005 with a progressive and enlightened approach to private healthcare. PruHealth has also established partnerships with Active Europe, a division of SA Active, which provides online sporting event registration services, and The Diagnostic Clinic, which provides online expertise in conventional, nutritional, complementary and alternative medicine. Ends BACKGROUND INFORMATION ON PRUHEALTH PruHealth is a 50:50 joint venture between Prudential UK and Discovery Holdings of South Africa. The venture was announced to the South African market in April 2004 and will see the two companies enter the private medical insurance market in the United Kingdom in the first quarter of 2005. The company will have bases in London and Johannesburg with back office support in South Africa. PruHealth will be headed by Catherine McGrath, who until recently ran Pru"s direct-to-consumer operation. The management board will comprise two members of the Prudential UK Executive Board, Roger Ramsden and Tim Tookey, and two members of the Discovery Executive Board, Adrian Gore and Shaun Matisonn. PruHealth will energise the UK PMI market with a more progressive and more enlightened approach to private healthcare. Its philosophy is to reward people who make efforts to lead a healthy life with lower premiums. Policyholders will be able to reduce the cost of their health insurance in a variety of ways such as annual health assessments, joining a gym or giving up smoking. For further information, please contact: Shaun Matisonn General Manager: Special Projects Discovery 011 529 2865 Patrick Lawlor Media and Investor Relations Beachhead 011 214 2400 082 459 6709 6 August 2004 Date: 06/08/2004 03:00:05 PM Supplied by www.sharenet.co.za Produced by the JSE SENS Department
