Appointment of Senior Independent Director

Connect Group PLC

("Connect Group" or "the Company")

Appointment of Senior Independent Director

Connect Group, a leading specialist distributor operating in four divisions; News & Media, Books, Education & Care and Parcel Freight, is pleased to announce the proposed appointment of Andrew Brent as Senior Independent Director in place of John Worby, who will step down and retire from the Board at the conclusion of the Annual General Meeting on 4 February 2016.

Andrew Brent joined the Board of Connect Group as an independent non-executive director on 1 September 2008. His experience and expertise will continue to provide strong oversight on the Board together with supporting in the further development of the Group's strategy.

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About Connect Group PLC:

Connect Group PLC is a leading specialist distributor operating in large and diverse markets. The Group has four separate divisions, connecting suppliers to customers in an efficient, knowledgeable and service oriented way:

Connect News & Media - Encompassing: Smiths News and Dawson Media Direct. Smiths News is the UK's largest newspaper and magazine wholesaling business with an approximate 55 per cent. market share. It distributes newspapers and magazines on behalf of the majority of the major national publishers as well as a large number of regional publishers. It serves approximately 30,000 customers across England and Wales, including large general retailers as well as smaller independent newsagents delivering approximately 35 million newspapers and 11 million magazines weekly. The News business also includes Pass My Parcel, a new Click & Collect delivery service for outbound and returns parcels with Amazon as its first client; Dawson Media Direct is an international media direct business supplying newspapers, magazines, inflight entertainment technology and content to over 80 airlines in 50 countries.

Connect Books - Combining a number of recognised brands in print and digital bookselling across four customer focused business units: Wholesale, including Bertrams Books; Libraries, including Dawson Books; Direct to Consumer, including Wordery and International, including Houtschild. The division serves over 8,200 customers in approximately 100 countries, with over 156,000 in stock titles and access to over a further seven million consumer and twenty million academic titles.

Connect Education & Care - A leading independent supplier of consumable products through The Consortium and West Mercia Supplies. The division holds an approximate 5 per cent. market share of the estimated addressable market, comprising the consumables element of education spend. It serves over 30,000 customers with an extensive range of over 40,000 products across a branded, own-brand and value range, including exercise books, stationery, arts and craft and cleaning products through a paper based catalogue and increasing focus on e-commerce trading with schools.

Connect Parcel Freight - Tuffnells is a leading provider of next-day B2B delivery of mixed freight/ parcel consignments, specialising in items of irregular dimension and weight, examples of which include bulky furnishings, building materials and automotive parts. Tuffnells offers distribution coverage throughout the UK through a network of 37 depots and operates a largely depot-to-depot operational model, providing over 10 million deliveries per annum, through a wide range of services to over 4,200 largely 'SME' customers.