LORD HURD RETURNS TO SURREY

Prospects for Europe was the hot topic yesterday afternoon as the Rt Hon Lord Hurd of Westwell returned to Surrey to meet with some of the region’s top local entrepreneurs.

Lord Hurd hosted a lunch for clients of Coutts & Co, in his capacity as deputy chairman of the private bank. On the agenda were the recent referendums in France and Holland and the resulting prospects for Europe and the Euro as a consequence of the results. Lord Hurd felt that with many of the influential European leaders likely to change in the short term, we could see a very different ‘harder faced’ Europe in the future. The subject of third world debt given the recent ‘Live 8’ coverage was also debated.

He was joined by Alastair Graham, senior manager of Coutts’ Guildford-based regional office and Jonathan Bickerdike and Peter Burke, both Coutts private bankers in Guildford.

The visit followed the success of a lunch hosted in September at which Lord Hurd addressed the dangers of international terrorism and how Governments deal with the threat.

Commenting on his most recent visit, Lord Hurd said: "I always look forward to my visits to Guildford and am delighted to have returned in my capacity as Deputy Chairman of Coutts & Co. With the Guildford office having recently been expanded, this is a very exciting area for the business. I very much enjoyed meeting with the clients once again."

Jonathan Bickerdike, private banker added; "We were delighted to welcome Lord Hurd back to Guildford. His lunches have proved to be very popular with our clients and his anecdotes of his time as home secretary under Margaret Thatcher gave a candid insight into the role."

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For further media information on Coutts contact:

Claire Symonds, Regional PR Manager, Coutts & Co on 0207 957 2650 or mobile 07970 001149 or e-mail claire.symonds@coutts.com

Notes to Editors

• Coutts is the international private banking arm of The Royal Bank of Scotland Group. The Royal Bank of Scotland Group is one of the world's largest banking groups.
• Coutts manages the wealth of 90,000 high net worth clients worldwide through a network of 50 offices globally.
• The first Coutts regional office to be opened was Eton in 1961. The most recent new opening was Liverpool at the end of 2003. Today, Coutts has regional offices in Bath, Birmingham, Bournemouth, Bristol, Cambridge, Cardiff, Eton, Guildford, Leeds, Liverpool, Manchester, Newcastle, Nottingham, Oxford, Tunbridge Wells & Winchester.
• Coutts offers clients a range of products and services covering sophisticated investment products together with expertise in trust and fiduciary services and UK tax and banking services.
• Coutts has for three years running been awarded ‘Best Use of Long-Only Multi-Manager Structures’ at the Private Asset Management Awards

• Coutts & Co is authorised and regulated by the Financial Services Authority. Registered in England No. 36695. Registered office: 440 Strand, London, WC2R 0QS

• Calls may be recorded