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22nd January 2002

CELLSTRUCTURES ANNOUNCES STRATEGIC ALLIANCES

Mobile mast outsourcer announces deals with London Electricity and the NFU.

Cellstructures International, the Reading-based mobile telecoms mast owner and outsourcer, today announced that it has entered into two strategic alliances, with London Electricity Group and the National Farmers Union (NFU), that will enable a rapid rollout of the company’s mast infrastructure across the UK.

The alliance with London Electricity, the largest contract ever awarded in the UK for building masts on a site-sharing basis, will provide Cellstructures with a large number of sites in the London area (within the M25), while the NFU deal brings increased access to rural areas which will improve coverage and service for mobile operators, particularly around road and rail networks.

As pressure continues on mobile operators to reduce their capital expenditure, outsourcing their network infrastructure with Cellstructures will enable them to significantly reduce and control operating costs, and through sharing mast infrastructure with other operators, further reduce costs. This will deliver savings for operators of both existing and next generation networks.

The NFU alliance will allow farmers to generate two revenue streams; from multiple operators sharing existing sites and from developing new sites on their land. By enabling operators to share infrastructure, Cellstructures is actively helping to reduce the proliferation of masts. Cellstructures also works closely with local communities when selecting sites for masts to ensure that site locations are favourable both to the public and the operators.

Cellstructures is backed by Penta Capital Partners, an independent UK private equity manager specialising in mid-market equity investments, and currently employs around 30 people. The company plans to develop around 1,000 masts in the next two years and currently has over 50 sites in the build phase.

Commenting on these developments Anwar Bajwa, Chairman of Cellstructures, said:

"We are delighted to have achieved two significant strategic milestones for our portfolio development. Having institutional funding support leaves us debt-free and in a strong position to roll out these portfolios for the UK operators. As an independent outsourcer of masts, we are able to provide a more flexible approach to dealing with operator requirements which in the long-run should allow operators to focus on marketing and new product applications, their core strengths."

Steven Scott of Penta Capital added:

"Everything we see in this space points to outsourcing, site sharing and the potential to assist the operators with existing capacity and coverage problems, as well as rolling out plans for new generation mobile networks, and we believe that Cellstructures is well placed to address these opportunities.

"The company has demonstrated strong growth potential, having both quality assets and clear revenue streams, and is already well on the way to delivering on its plans. We will continue to support the company’s growth, both in the UK and in continental Europe, and are confident that Cellstructures will prove valuable for investors in the long-term."