PARIS (Standard&Poor's CreditWire) July 13, 2001--Standard&Poor's today affirmed its triple-'B'-plus long-term corporate credit, senior unsecured, and senior secured debt ratings on U.K.-based Compass Group PLC--the world's largest food-service and vending company--and removed the ratings from CreditWatch, where they had been placed with developing implications on Feb. 12, 2001. The outlook is stable. The ratings affirmation follows the group's recent sale of its hotels division to focus on the stable and non-capital-intensive food-service market, and reflects its intention to reinvest the bulk of the proceeds in businesses that provide a good strategic fit with its current operations. The ratings primarily reflect Compass' strong competitive positions in the food-service market--the company has leading positions in the global contract
