Cobalt today announced that Budgens is to be become the latest food retailer to use the Cobalt ATAS product to co-ordinate the reporting of faults notified to third party contractors. The sale has been made in association with Maintenance Management Limited one of Cobalt's business partners in this specialist field. The project work has already begun and the expected launch date will be during the third week of January.

Budgens is taking the latest release of the ATAS software that has already been in successful use for several months in support of the John Lewis Partnership. News of the increased operational efficiency that is created by the deployment of this product is generating considerable interest and further sales are soon to be announced.

About Budgens:

Budgens plc is a significant UK retailer and since an acquisition completed on 31 July 2002 has been a wholly owned part of the Musgrave Group, the largest supermarket group in the Republic of Ireland. Budgens operates over 175 stores, ranging in format from supermarkets to convenience stores. Budgens covers 25 counties including London, with over 860,000 square feet of sales space, 6,000 staff and serves over 78 million customers a year. Musgrave intends to retain the Budgens facia, and will continue to develop the local convenience store format and based on a commitment to offering a large range of quality fresh food and a competitive grocery offer. For further information please call 0208 422 9511 or visit www.budgens.co.uk