Elara Capital to enter broking business in India

* Appoints Mr. Vipul Dalal as Country Head

* Announces the launch of its second India dedicated fund

Mumbai, 30 November 2007: Elara Capital Plc, a UK-based, full service investment bank, today announced its intention to launch equity research and broking business operations in India through its subsidiary company-- Elara Securities (India) Private Limited.

Explaining the rationale behind the launch of its Indian equity research and broking arm, Mr Raj Bhatt, Chairman & CEO, Elara Capital Plc. said, "We plan to grow our business primarily through building on existing client relationships and bringing into our portfolio other major institutional and corporate investors. We also believe that the rapid and robust growth in the mid market sector offers us significant opportunity to provide a wide variety of financial services and products for this segment."

Mr. Ajay Pandey, Global Head of Capital Markets commented that "In our Indian broking operations, we would like to focus on advice to institutional investors on investments in Indian Capital Markets. We have inducted a professional team with an impeccable background.

Mr. Vipul Dalal, former Business Unit Head-Institutional Equities, Morgan Stanley's Global Knowledge Centre, Mumbai will head the equity research and broking operations. Mr. Rakesh Puri, formerly with CLSA has joined Elara Capital in the position of Executive Director bringing with him the expertise in finance, broking, legal and compliance. Further, Mr. T. N Shankar, Director & Global Head of research, Elara Capital, will provide strategic direction for research."

Elara Capital Plc, is registered as an Foreign Institutional Investor (FII) with SEBI. It is launching its second India dedicated fund Elara Emerging Markets Fund. The existing fund, Elara India Opportunities Fund has been investing over a year. Mr. Amit Arora, who has over 16 years of experience in the Indian financial markets, would manage both the funds. Prior to joining Elara Capital, Mr Arora was part of the team at Kuvera Fund Ltd, an India dedicated fund.

About Elara Capital Plc (www.elaracapital.com)

Elara Capital is a full service investment bank based in United Kingdom, active in Capital Markets, Mergers & Acquisitions, Asset Management and Broking. The company has a 100% subsidiary in India with an office in Mumbai. Elara believes in the India growth story and is playing an instrumental role in the transformation of fast growing mid-cap Indian companies into global majors. Elara has undertaken transactions aggregating more than $1 billion in the last 3 years through various instruments.

Elara is authorized and regulated by the Financial Services Authority in United Kingdom, is a member of the London Stock Exchange and a broker in London AIM market. It is registered as a Foreign Institutional Investor (FII) with Securities Exchange Board of India (SEBI). Its 100% subsidiary, Elara Capital (India) Private Limited is a Category I Merchant Bank registered with SEBI. Elara Capital (India) offers its clients a complete bouquet of services including domestic fund raising, mergers & acquisitions, advisory and private equity.