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9 April 2001

PENTA CAPITAL CLOSES FIRST FUND AT OVER £130 MILLION

Penta Capital, the independent private equity house, announced today that it has completed the final closing of its first fund, Penta Fund I, with commitments totalling over £130 million. The fund will be invested primarily in UK and Irish mid-market companies with an emphasis on the leisure, support services and IT & communications sectors.

The institutional investors in the Fund are Bank of Scotland, Old Mutual, Northern Rock Plc and Fortis Bank SA/NV. Penta Fund I represents a significant cornerstone investment in private equity for both Bank of Scotland and Old Mutual. In addition, it is the first investment in a UK private equity fund for Fortis.

Penta Capital has also established a Network Fund, a vehicle for a select number of Penta's contacts across its preferred sectors to invest alongside Fund I. The contributors to the Network Fund are entrepreneurs and senior businessmen who can add value to Penta's investment process.

Steven Scott, director of Penta Capital, said: "As a first time fund, we are very pleased to have attracted these major international financial institutions as investors. We have focussed on a small group of substantial investors with whom we can build mutually beneficial, long term relationships. We also believe that The Network Fund will improve the quality of our deal flow and investment process, ultimately leading to higher returns for our investors."

Since its formation, Penta has invested in four transactions investing over £21 million. These include the MBO of McLaren Consulting, an e-business solutions provider, and investments in Transrent, a commercial truck trailer rental company and Datacare Software Group, a leading Irish based provider of corporate records management software.

Notes to Editors:

Penta Capital
Penta Capital is an independently owned and managed private equity house with funds under management totalling over £130 million.

Penta Capital invests in all types of later stage private equity transactions, including MBOs, MBIs, platform investments and development capital. More specifically, it targets UK and Irish mid-market companies valued at between £5 million and £75 million with an emphasis on the leisure, support services and IT & communications sectors. Penta has a strong preference for investing in businesses with a proven technical and operational capability; it does not invest in start-up or very early stage opportunities. Penta Capital is based in Glasgow.

Penta currently has a team of six investment executives comprising Steven Scott, Mark Phillips, Torquil Macnaughton, David Calder, Craig Armour and Michael Scherpenhuijsen Rom. Its non-executive Chairman is Tom Ross OBE, Chairman of Scottish Life and former head of the NAPF.

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