TMP Worldwide Inc. Acquires HW Group PLC

New York, NY - February 17, 2000 - TMP Worldwide Inc., (NASDAQ: TMPW; ASX: TMP) the leading provider of global recruitment solutions including the dominant Internet career portal, Monster.com, today announced that it has completed its previously announced acquisition of UK based HW Group PLC. TMP will issue approximately 375,000 shares of common stock (before giving effect to the previously announced 2 for 1 stock split) for all of the outstanding shares of HW Group. The acquisition will be accounted for as a pooling of interests and is expected to be immediately accretive to TMP's financial results.

HW Group was founded in 1959 and has built a reputation as one of the UK's most integrated mid-market recruitment consultancies. The company has an impressive track record, based on continuous organic expansion and acquisitions. With over 370 employees in 16 offices across the UK and Ireland, and approximately $90 million in annual fees, HW Group recruits in such specialist areas as finance, legal and human resources. On a pro-forma basis, the combined companies would have reported commissions and fees of approximately $625 million for the nine months ended September 30, 1999. The addition of HW Group will strengthen TMP Worldwide's mid-market recruitment capabilities and enhance the market position of Monster.co.uk.

Commenting on the completion announcement, Andrew McKelvey, Chairman and CEO of TMP Worldwide Inc. stated: “I am happy to welcome HW Group and all its employees into the TMP Network. Through HW Group, we can expand ‘Monster.co.uk' in the United Kingdom and continue the worldwide development of our recruitment businesses. This acquisition expands our mid-market selection business, further enhancing our ‘Intern to CEO' strategy.”

Andrew Banks, Global Chief Executive Officer of TMP Executive Resourcing, said: “We see HW Group as an integral part of our European and global resourcing business. Its strengths in the financial sector and other specialist areas of recruitment will immediately increase the number of jobs posted on ‘Monster.co.uk', as well as our private label sites, thereby increasing traffic and providing greater choice for candidates visiting our global web-enabled infrastructure.”

Graham Palfery-Smith, Chief Executive Officer of HW Group PLC, added:

“We are delighted to become part of such a powerful organization as TMP Worldwide. This deal will benefit all who use our services, through both Monster.com and the global pipelines we are establishing in order to provide specialist professional candidates across the industry spectrum. TMP's infrastructure in the Asia Pacific region provides us with a significant opportunity to quickly increase revenues, particularly because currently, there is strong interest from potential candidates of that region in seeking contract employment in the UK and vice versa.”

Founded in 1967, TMP Worldwide, now with more than 6,400 employees in 25 countries, is the on-line recruitment leader, one of the world's largest recruitment advertising agencies, and one of the world's largest executive search and selection agencies. TMP Worldwide, headquartered in New York, is also the world's largest yellow pages advertising agency and a provider of direct marketing services. The company's clients include more than 90 of the Fortune 100 and more than 450 of the Fortune 500 companies.

About Monster.com

Monster.com (www.monster.com), the flagship product of the Interactive Division of TMP Worldwide, is the Internet's leading career destination portal. The Monster.com network currently consists of web sites in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Australia, Belgium, France, Singapore and New Zealand.

More information about Monster.com is available at www.monster.com.

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Special Note: The above statements include forward-looking statements based on current management

expectations. Factors that could cause future results to differ from these expectations include the following: risks associated with acquisitions, competition and seasonality. Additional factors are described in the company's reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Contact: Kirsten Munachen
44 (0) 207 872 1661
kmunachen@tmpw.co.uk

Lavine Surtani
(212) 445-8262
lsurtani@bsmg.com