Compass Group PLC has disclosed the purchase of 2,000 of its ordinary shares on 26 March 2024. The shares were acquired in line with the authority granted by shareholders at the 2023 Annual General Meeting. The company intends to hold these shares in treasury for potential use in meeting obligations arising from employee share schemes or other allocations to employees or directors. The purchases were made through the Company's broker, BNP Paribas Financial Markets, with a detailed breakdown of individual trades provided in the announcement.

The transactions are part of the company's market equivalent of $250 million share buyback announced on 4 December 2023, which is the initial stage of the Company's $500 million share buyback announced on 20 November 2023. Following these purchases, the Company holds 80,908,600 Ordinary Shares in treasury and has 1,704,495,377 Ordinary Shares in issue. This figure may be used by shareholders as the denominator for the calculations by which they will determine if they are required to notify their interest in, or a change to their interest in, the Company under the Financial Conduct Authority's Disclosure Guidance and Transparency Rules.

The announcement emphasizes that it does not constitute an offer or solicitation of an offer for securities in any jurisdiction. For further information, investors can contact Agatha Donnelly & Helen Javanshiri at +44 (0) 1932 573 000, and for press inquiries, Giles Robinson at +44 (0) 1932 963 486. More details about the transactions can be found on the company's website.