| Fri 6 Aug 2004, 15:04 | | Discovery Vitality Gains Traction In The Uk |
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Discovery Holdings Limited - Discovery Vitality Gains Traction In The Uk
PruHealth concludes UK gym deals
DISCOVERY HOLDINGS LIMITED
(Incorporated in the Republic of South Africa)
(Registration number: 1999/007789/06)
ISIN: ZAE000022331
Share Code: DSY
(`Discovery` and `the Company`)
DISCOVERY VITALITY GAINS TRACTION IN THE UK
PruHealth concludes UK gym deals
Discovery Health is exporting its successful Vitality concept to the UK, through
its joint venture with Prudential, called PruHealth.
PruHealth launches early next year, but it has already concluded a series of
partnerships with Cannons and Holmes Place, two of the UK`s largest gym chains.
PruHealth members will be able to enjoy gym membership at significantly reduced
rates, in the same way that Discovery Vitality members in South Africa have been
able to exercise at unprecedented rates at leading gyms.
Discovery, which has been at the forefront of a consumer driven healthcare
system in South Africa, uses the same model for its business venture with
PruHealth in the UK.
Members are encouraged to take ownership of managing their health as a way of
reducing healthcare costs. A method similar to the Vitality reward system is
used, whereby members earn points for activities that are geared to improve
their health through regular exercise and other healthy lifestyle behaviours.
Adrian Gore, the CEO of Discovery said the joint venture presented his company
with an opportunity to export his company`s unique business model and skills
set.
The PruHealth venture follows Discovery`s establishment of Destiny Health in
Illinois in the US.
Gore said contrary to the flight of skills to other countries, the company`s
experiences with both Destiny Health and the deal with Prudential have shown
that top-notch South African-based skills can be employed to gain access to
other markets. Instead of losing talented and sought-after skills in this
country, homegrown expertise has been used to establish a foothold in foreign
markets.
PruHealth will also use the Discovery call centre and operational infrastructure
in South Africa to conduct its business, a sign of how this relationship can
help create additional jobs in the local market. The call centre is already
handling numerous enquiries from the US on behalf of Destiny Health.
Discussing the UK opportunity, Catherine McGrath, CEO of PruHealth, said the
GBP2.9 billion UK private medical insurance (PMI) market was ripe for a
shakeout. She described the UK market as: `Stagnant, with a small number of big
players bringing little in the way of innovation and maintaining an outdated
model which, frankly, is little more than motor insurance for bodies`.
The current system revolves around paying for sickness, not promoting health and
wellbeing. We are going to change that.`
She said PruHealth would energise the PMI market in the first quarter of 2005
with a progressive and enlightened approach to private healthcare.
PruHealth has also established partnerships with Active Europe, a division of SA
Active, which provides online sporting event registration services, and The
Diagnostic Clinic, which provides online expertise in conventional, nutritional,
complementary and alternative medicine.
Ends
BACKGROUND INFORMATION ON PRUHEALTH
PruHealth is a 50:50 joint venture between Prudential UK and Discovery Holdings
of South Africa. The venture was announced to the South African market in April
2004 and will see the two companies enter the private medical insurance market
in the United Kingdom in the first quarter of 2005.
The company will have bases in London and Johannesburg with back office support
in South Africa. PruHealth will be headed by Catherine McGrath, who until
recently ran Pru`s direct-to-consumer operation. The management board will
comprise two members of the Prudential UK Executive Board, Roger Ramsden and Tim
Tookey, and two members of the Discovery Executive Board, Adrian Gore and Shaun
Matisonn.
PruHealth will energise the UK PMI market with a more progressive and more
enlightened approach to private healthcare. Its philosophy is to reward people
who make efforts to lead a healthy life with lower premiums. Policyholders will
be able to reduce the cost of their health insurance in a variety of ways such
as annual health assessments, joining a gym or giving up smoking.
For further information, please contact:
Shaun Matisonn
General Manager: Special Projects
Discovery
011 529 2865
Patrick Lawlor
Media and Investor Relations
Beachhead
011 214 2400
082 459 6709
6 August 2004
Date: 06/08/2004 03:00:05 PM Produced by the JSE SENS Department
