CAMBRIDGE, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--June 5, 2000--Bright Horizons Family Solutions (NASDAQ: BFAM), today announced its expansion into the international employer-sponsored child care market. Bright Horizons, the US leader in employer-sponsored child care, early education, and work/life solutions, has acquired one of the UK's premiere child care companies, Nurseryworks, based in London, England. The announcement comes as Prime Minister Tony Blair is believed to be the first head-of-state worldwide to take a paternity leave while he celebrates the recent birth of his son, Leo, and as experts in Britain's workplace environment say the growth of work-site child care is inevitable. The acquisition is the first step in Bright Horizons' global partnership strategy, making Bright Horizons one of the top child care providers in the UK and the leader in employer supported work/life services worldwide. As a part of this global strategy, Bright Horizons is continuing to explore business opportunities in Europe and expects to announce an additional partnership in the UK this summer.

"This move will position Bright Horizons Family Solutions to be the leading quality provider of workplace child care and other work/life solutions worldwide," said Bright Horizons' President and CEO Roger Brown. "It will enable us to meet the needs of U.S. and international clients who are increasingly looking to offer work-site child care centers at their overseas facilities. In addition, we are now well positioned to expand our client offerings to Europe's business leaders with the strength, experience and reputation of one of the top quality child care leaders in the UK market on our team."

Nurseryworks was founded in 1990 by Susan Hay, one of Britain's renowned experts in the field of child care. Nurseryworks currently operates nine employer-sponsored nurseries in the London area for clients including Sainsbury, Chase Manhattan Bank, UBS Warburg and JP Morgan. Nurseryworks and Bright Horizons share a child care philosophy that encourages individual and creative development for each child, as well as active parental involvement. Hay and her management team will continue to operate their centers and Hay will serve as Bright Horizons' Managing Director for the London area.

"We are very excited to have joined forces with one of the highest quality child care providers in this important UK market. We see excellent growth opportunities as this sector is in the early stages of its development. With established clients of our own in the US eager to add child care abroad, there are now immediate opportunities for us to provide the solutions they need. In addition, we will be uniquely positioned to offer work/life solutions for employers in Europe, while the market for such services matures rapidly. Susan Hay will be key to that operational expansion in the UK and Europe," said Brown.

Bright Horizons' move into the UK market comes at a time when 62 percent of mothers in Britain are working outside the home and two-thirds of mothers are returning to work after maternity leave, but the number of workplace child care centers is not keeping pace. A Mori's opinion survey notes that today, 74 percent of the UK's top 500 companies recognize there is a business case for introducing family-friendly policies, but only one in ten UK employers offers child care support and only two percent have workplace nurseries. This, combined with legislative initiatives such as the British Employment Relations Bill, the fact that 92 percent of parents are encouraging the government to help employers offer child care, and the national debate over Prime Minister Tony Blair's abbreviated paternity leave, indicate that the British market is ripe for growth in employer-sponsored child care.

Bright Horizons' consulting engagements with its many multinational clients have helped illuminate the complex needs of overseas clients and have positioned Bright Horizons to keenly understand the market for these services. Market trends, client interest, operating culture and the ability to partner with experienced and skilled local providers made the UK market a natural first step for overseas operations. Bright Horizons' UK operations, together with its consulting practice, will serve as a base for the company's expansion in Europe.

Chase Manhattan has been a client of Bright Horizons Family Solutions for more than eight years. Joy Bunson, Senior Vice President, Organizational Development said, "For us, employer-sponsored back-up child care is a strategic, high impact way to simultaneously address critical employee and business needs. Companies have an important role to play in ensuring their employees can contribute their best both at work and at home - no matter where the employee is located on the globe."

With 14 workplace child care centers around the world, Motorola offers more on-site child care than any other corporation and greeted Bright Horizons Family Solutions move into the UK with enthusiasm. Rick Dorazil, Vice President of Global Rewards at Motorola comments, "People are looking for more than a salary; they're looking for an environment. Our partnership with Bright Horizons Family Solutions has been instrumental in our ability to provide child care and work/life programs that help employees balance their personal and professional lives. Ultimately these programs help us to attract and retain the very best employees."

Bright Horizons will bring its management expertise and ability to meet the unique needs of employers to its new overseas operations. The company's successful management transition of three child care centers for Raytheon in Guam, along with extensive operations throughout the continental US, establish a track record of maintaining quality standards across a broad geographic area. Bright Horizons' strong field operations, combined with the retention of all current management in UK operations, will ensure that the new European operations will continue to provide high quality child care and solid operational and financial results.

"We will be working closely with Susan Hay to build the same strong record of child advocacy in Europe as we have in the US," said Brown. "Our reputation for excellence will, of course, be based on quality and service. But, it is our commitment to child development and child advocacy around the world that will make the most lasting impact."

Bright Horizons Family Solutions

Bright Horizons Family Solutions (www.brighthorizons.com) is the world's leading provider of employer-sponsored child care, back-up care, early education and work/life solutions. The company operates more than 320 Family Centers in 35 US states, Europe, and the Pacific Rim. Bright Horizons serves more than 250 clients, including 75 of the Fortune 500 and 45 of the "Best Companies to Work For in America" as designated by Working Mother magazine. Bright Horizons clients include Motorola, Cisco Systems, the United Nations, Chase Manhattan Bank, Pfizer, the PGA Tour, Sun Microsystems, Citigroup, Boeing, Johnson & Johnson, Universal Studios and Duke University.

This press release contains forward-looking statements, which involve a number of risks and uncertainties. Bright Horizons Family Solutions' actual results may vary significantly from the results anticipated in these forward-looking statements as a result of certain factors, including the ability of the Company to execute contracts relating to new commitments and to expand and operate effectively and profitably in the international market, as well as other factors that are discussed in detail in the Company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including the "Risk Factors" section in the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 1999.

CONTACT: Bright Horizons Family Solutions

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