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10 February 2005

La Tasca floats with a market capitalisation of approximately £54million

Placing and Admission to the Alternative Investment Market ("AIM")

Founded in 1993, La Tasca Group plc (“La Tasca” or “the Company”) operates the largest casual dining Spanish restaurant chain in the UK serving tapas, Spanish wines and beer in large restaurants with an authentic Spanish atmosphere. There are currently 45 La Tasca restaurants in the UK and a further two restaurants in the USA. The Company has also recently opened two La Viña restaurants in the UK.

Highlights

	La Tasca was acquired by Penta Capital in 2001. The management team, led by James Horler have since accelerated the roll-out of the core La Tasca brand from 16 to 45 restaurants in locations across the UK.
	The directors believe that there is significant scope for growth in the casual dining market. The restaurant meals segment of the eating out market is forecast to grow by 25.7% from £3.5 billion in 2003 to £4.4 billion in 2007 (Source: Mintel: Eating Out Habits UK, April 2004).
	The directors believe that the La Tasca brand, with its authentic and clearly differentiated Spanish offering, is well placed to benefit from the trend towards casual dining and the increasing popularity of Spain as a holiday destination which has helped popularise Spain’s cuisine and its relaxed, informal style of dining.
	The La Tasca directors have extensive management experience and expertise in the fast growing casual dining market and in successfully rolling out restaurant brands.
	La Tasca has achieved strong growth in both sales and profit in the three years ended April 2004. In the six months to 24 October 2004, the Company generated an operating profit (EBITDA) of £3.73 million.
	La Tasca has raised approximately £19.0 million (net) by way of a placing of new ordinary shares. In addition, existing shareholders have raised approximately £17.5 million through the sale of existing ordinary shares in the placing.
	The funds raised by La Tasca will be used to reduce debt thereby creating greater financial flexibility. It is expected that Penta Capital will retain an equity stake of approximately 23%.
	On flotation, La Tasca will have 49,077,092 ordinary shares in issue and a market capitalisation of approximately £54 million.
	Dealings will commence on Wednesday, 16 February 2005.
	Altium is acting as Nominated adviser and broker to La Tasca.

James Horler, Chief Executive of La Tasca said: “La Tasca is a proven and successful restaurant concept and we look forward to rolling this out further as we develop the business. I am confident that we have in place the management and expertise that will enable us to generate outstanding value for our shareholders in the future. We are delighted to have received such a positive response from institutional investors and we are very excited by the potential growth of La Tasca Group.”