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4 May 2000

PENTA CAPITAL ANNOUNCES FIRST CLOSING AT £100 MILLION

Penta Capital ("Penta"), the independent private equity investment house owned and managed by its executive team, announces today that it has completed the initial round of fund-raising for its first fund ("Penta Fund 1") with commitments totalling £100 million to date. This significantly exceeds Penta's first close target of £75 million.

Penta Fund 1 has received cornerstone commitments from two FTSE 100 financial institutions, Bank of Scotland and Old Mutual plc. Bank of Scotland is a leading provider of senior debt to UK private equity transactions. Old Mutual is a leading global financial services group, whose principal business areas are asset management, life insurance, banking and insurance – it is currently the UK's largest private client fund manager through its ownership of Capel Cure Sharp and Greig Middleton.

Penta will be investing in all types of later stage private equity transactions, focusing on UK and Irish mid-market companies valued at between £5 million and £75 million. Penta expects that the majority of the funds will be invested in three sectors: IT & Communications, Business Services and Leisure. Since achieving IMRO clearance and commencing fundraising in early December, the executive team at Penta have assessed over 100 investment opportunities and expect to announce the first completed investment shortly.

Steven Scott, Director of Penta, said:

"Whilst much of the attention in the investor community in recent months has been focused on the early stage dot.com arena, our success in exceeding our first close target in only four months also demonstrates the attraction of backing high growth established businesses through a tight sectoral approach.

"To achieve our first closing, we decided at an early stage to run a very selective fund raising process, seeking to establish long term relationships with a small group of substantial fund investors. We now intend widening the marketing of the fund over the next 6 months to a small group of synergistic investors, with a view to a final closing of our fund by the end of 2000."

Gavin Masterton, Treasurer and MD at Bank of Scotland, said:

"We are an established fund investor in UK private equity mid-market transactions and are very enthusiastic about the level of regional opportunities in this arena. We have worked closely with the investment team at Penta for a number of years. Our decision to support the team in their new venture is supported by our belief in their research-led approach to identifying and managing investments."

Eric Anstee, Finance Director, Old Mutual plc added:

"Penta's clearly focused investment strategy and strong desire to make a significant impact on the UK private equity market impressed us from our first meeting. The Penta team have themselves successfully established a new venture and the understanding this will give them with investee company management teams, will, we believe, be invaluable in achieving market differentiation.

"We have planned to extend our offering to our Asset Management clients into the fast-growing area of Private Equity, utilising the regional broking and Corporate Finance skills of Albert E Sharp Securities to originate and develop transaction opportunities from among their wide corporate client base. In Penta we have found the ideal partner to begin to develop this area, with a proven track record that is of particular attraction to our institutional and high net worth client base."

Notes to Editors

PENTA CAPITAL

Penta Capital was formed in September 1999 and gained IMRO approval in late November. Its' executive team comprises Steven Scott, Torquil Macnaughton, Mark Phillips, and David Calder, all formerly with Royal Bank Development Capital. Between them they have over 25 years of experience in the private equity market.

OLD MUTUAL plc

Old Mutual is a leading international financial services group, now headquartered in London, with strong brands in Asset Management, Life and General Insurance, and Banking. Principal operating subsidiaries include Old Mutual Asset Managers, Nedcor banking group, Old Mutual Life Assurance, and Mutual & Federal. The Group is the leading financial services company in Africa complemented by growing businesses in the UK, Bermuda, Guernsey, and the United States.

Following a successful demutualisation in early 1999 Old Mutual plc listed on the London, Johannesburg, Namibia, Malawi and Zimbabwe Stock Exchanges on 12 July 1999. At the close of business on 1 May, the company was capitalised at approx. £5bn. At year end December 1999 the Group's total assets were £39 billion and it has approximately 3.2 million life policyholders, 2 million banking customers, 270,000 general insurance policyholders and 790,000 unit trust accounts with some of these customers being customers of more than one of the businesses.

The Group provides a multi-country asset management capability with specific local and global investment and asset management expertise. Old Mutual Asset Managers is a leading fund manager in South Africa and the United Kingdom. Group fund management operations, both institutional and retail, are characterised by strong growth in assets under management. Old Mutual Unit Trusts is the leading unit trust provider in South Africa with strong global funds marketed in the UK and key offshore financial centres. Through Capel Cure Sharp and Gerrard Group, the Group is a leading provider of portfolio management and stockbroking services to high net-worth individuals in the UK. Albert E Sharp Securities provides broking and corporate finance to a growing list of small and mid-Cap corporates through a strong regional presence throughout the UK.

Penta Capital Partners Limited is
Regulated by IMRO