The Board of Thistle Hotels Plc announces the appointment of David Newbigging as Chairman, effective immediately.

Mr Newbigging is currently Chairman of Friends` Provident Life Office and Deputy Chairman of Benchmark Group Plc. He is also a Director of Merrill Lynch & Co. Inc. in New York.

Whilst in Hong Kong, Mr Newbigging was Chairman of the Hong Kong Land Company which at that time was parent company of the Mandarin (now Mandarin Oriental) Hotels Group. A Jardine, Matheson subsidiary also operated some 30 Holiday Inns in Southern Africa.

Married with three children, Mr Newbigging was born in China and educated in Canada and England.

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