BIDS.L Regulatory News (BIDS)

5 Jun 2006 07:00

ADDleisure PLC05 June 2006 ADDleisure Plc / Ticker: ADE.L / Index: AIM / Sector: Leisure 5 June 2006 ADDleisure Plc ('ADDleisure' or 'the Company') Agreement with Health Insurer PruHealth ADDleisure, the AIM traded company formed to develop products and services inthe health and leisure sectors, has signed a three year agreement, through its75% owned subsidiary Fitbug Limited ('Fitbug'), with leading innovative privatemedical insurance company PruHealth. Under the terms of the Agreement, Fitbugwill supply memberships of fitbug.co.uk, "your online personal health andwell-being coach", to PruHealth policy holders. PruHealth, a joint venture between Prudential UK and leading health insuranceprovider, Discovery, in South Africa, offers a unique form of health insurance,which recognises and rewards members with lower healthcare insurance premiumsfor taking care of their health. If members take part in any of the healthyactivities offered by its health and well-being partners, which span a range ofthings including physical activity, screening, nutrition and non-smoking, theyearn 'Vitality Points'. At the end of the year, the greater the number ofVitality Points earned the higher the Vitality status, the greater the potentialreduction in future premiums or cash back could be. PruHealth currently has inexcess of 50,000 members and is continuing to grow in the individual andcorporate markets. fitbug.co.uk is an online personal health and well-being coach, which combines aunique interactive tracking device ('The Bug') and web technology to measureactivity, provide feedback and motivate users towards a healthier lifestyle.With fitbug.co.uk, PruHealth members could be able to earn Vitality points bysimply using their feet. Walking to work, playing golf, walking the dog,hiking, rambling, in fact anything that keeps them active could reduce memberspremiums or contribute towards their cash back. The agreement with PruHealth opens up a new market area for Fitbug and theCompany, that being the insurance sector. Under the deal, PruHealth willsubsidise the purchase of the Fitbug Members Pack and will pay members' monthlysubscription fee. The introduction of Fitbug offers PruHealth members an innovative healthalternative to the gym, which anybody could benefit from, no matter age, shape,fitness level or geographic location. Fitbug Managing Director, Paul Landau commented: "This is a ground breakingdeal. For the first time, health insurance subscribers will be able to benefitfrom the potential of reduced premiums by simply keeping active and staying offtheir sofas. Working with PruHealth presents a significant opportunity forFitbug and reflects a key component of our B2B strategy which is to work withstrategic channel partners. Fitbug offers PruHealth a price competitive andeffective way of motivating their members to lead an active, healthy lifestyle,monitoring their progress and rewarding them accordingly. " Nick Read, Director of Business Development for PruHealth commented: "Introducing Fitbug to our Vitality scheme marks an important development forPruHealth. Rewarding members for taking regular exercise is at the heart of ourprivate medical insurance product. Fitbug will now enable us to extend ourreach beyond the gym floor, providing individuals with their own weekly activitytargets that they can achieve as part of their everyday life. Members couldthen be rewarded with lower premiums for maintaining a healthy lifestyle,however and wherever they achieve it." Fitbug is currently being used by both individuals and blue-chip corporatesincluding Channel 4, Department of Health, o2 plc and Ford Motor Company's EDAPprogramme, as part of their employee well-being programmes. ** E N D S ** Contacts Isabel Crossley St. Brides Media & Finance Ltd Tel: 020 7242 4477Paul Landau Fitbug Limited Tel: 020 7449 4949Ben Margolis ADDleisure Plc Tel: 020 7449 1000 Notes About ADDleisure plc • Floated on AIM in October 2004, ADDleisure Plc believes that the increase in awareness of the importance of physical health and wellbeing has resulted in an opportunity to develop and promote new highly differentiated offerings to the leisure industry as a whole, as well as market fitness products and services to the millions of people who want to remain healthy but do not belong to gyms. • It made three initial investments in Fitbug Limited, Liberation Fitness Systems Limited (distributors of the Power Plate fitness equipment) and Digital Plantation Limited (developers of Ez-Book intelligent booking software). The stake in Liberation Fitness Systems was recently sold for a substantial profit. • The Company has a highly experienced management team, including Allan Fisher, founder and former CEO of Holmes Place; David Turner, founder and former director of LA Fitness plc; and David Cummin, founder and former director of Membertrack Limited, a leading club membership software provider. About PruHealth • PruHealth is a joint venture between Prudential UK and a leading South African private healthcare provider, Discovery Holdings. • PruHealth combines the strengths of the two companies: Prudential's brand and distribution strength in the UK and Discovery's product, underwriting and management expertise for private medical care. • In bringing the two companies together we are creating a powerful consumer offering that will enable us to provide relevant and competitive products that will appeal to individuals and companies alike. • PruHealth's philosophy is to reward people who make efforts to lead a healthy lifestyle and subsequently don't claim with lower premiums. • The company has offices in London and Belfast with administration support in South Africa. About fitbug.co.uk Most people would love to improve their health, become more active and eat moresensibly but often lack the time, energy, motivation and know how to even getstarted. With Fitbug you can make realistic, informed and long lastinglifestyle changes that do not include dramatic diets or punishing exerciseregimes. fitbug.co.uk is your online personal health and well-being coach that comes withit is own innovative gadget the "Bug". As a Fitbug member you choose whichactivity and well-being "journey" you want to take either to lose weight,maintain or improve your fitness levels. Everything about Fitbug is simple and easy to use; it will provide you with allthe necessary activity and nutrition tools to help you achieve a balanced andhealthy life. By simply clipping the "Bug" on to your clothes or putting itdiscretely in to your pocket you can monitor the amount of steps taken each day,the level of aerobic activity achieved and calories burned through exercise anddistance walked. Once the Fitbug team has got to know your lifestyle its team of experts willdevise a specific nutrition and activity plan individually tailored to help youreach your chosen goals. You regularly upload your activity data from your "Bug"on to your personalised Fitbug web page, input your food consumption and thenyour daily achievements are analysed by the Fitbug team. Through the website, text messages and online advice, Fitbug will motivate,advise and sometimes even gently slap your wrist to encourage you to get off thesofa and back on to the pavement if you've been a bit lazy or had a bad foodday. Fitbug works on the sound principle of balancing the intake of calories consumedversus the amount of energy burned throughout the course of the day. You canthen successfully monitor your progress and see if you need to up the pace oralter your nutritional intake in order to reach your goals. Each week you willbe set attainable weekly targets based on your achievements and receive a statusreport, which will chart your progress and set out just what you need to do tokeep on working towards your next goal. Using Fitbug helps you make simple moderations to your daily routine and diet.Just by walking more and monitoring your food intake you will notice changes inyour shape and a sense of well-being without having to sacrifice your favouritefoods or punish yourself at the gym - it is not expensive, it is not faddy andit works. Fitbug Limited's founder and Managing Director is Paul Landau, formerly amanagement consultant with Accenture and co-founder of Target Trackers Ltd, aprovider of technology solutions to the UK fitness industry. This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock Exchange