LONDON, October 18 /PRNewswire/ --

- Winners of 2007 English Tech Tour Announced; 24 Companies Stand to 
Benefit from Investment Funding

The European Tech Tour today announced that 24 companies had been
selected as the winners of its 2007 English Tech Tour, in which the country's
most promising high growth, early- and expansion-stage technology companies
stand to benefit from investment funding.

The 24 winners were chosen from a pool of nearly 300 candidates and
selected based on detailed reviews by the English Tech Tour's Selection
Committee of leading venture capital firms in the UK. The reviews assessed
the uniqueness of their technology, strength of their business model, vision,
capability to execute on the business plan and the quality of their
management team and track record.

This is the second time in its history that the European Tech Tour has
come to England; the last time it was held was in 2004. The European Tech
Tour was founded in 1998 and this is the 27th tour it has conducted.

"There has never been a more exciting time to set up a high-growth
technology company in England," said Keith Arundale, president of the English
Tech Tour 2007. "Last year, there was three times the amount of technology
investment in England compared with 2004, and funding for technology ventures
increased an incredible seven-fold in the UK overall.(i) We've come a long
way since the previous Tech Tour was conducted and the outlook for the
technology sector is positive."

Nigel Grierson, managing director and founder of Doughty Hanson
Technology Ventures, an English Tech Tour participant and sponsor, commented:
"There is no doubt that entrepreneurs continue to be globally ambitious, high
quality and determined to build world-class businesses. This entrepreneurial
spirit is embodied in many of this year's winners, some of whom may well be
leaders in the future."

And the winners are...

The 2007 English Tech Tour winners span several technology sectors,
including communication and networking systems, semiconductor devices,
internet and enterprise application software, design, enabling technology,
manufacturing and test equipment, medical equipment and clean tech.

Geographically, the winners are broadly dispersed, with some located in
the Midlands, East, Northwest and Northeast in addition to the traditional
technology centres of London, Thames Valley, Southampton and Cambridge.

The winning companies include:

Company          Location           Company            Location
    Acrobot          London             Short Fuze         Cambridge
    Artimi           Cambridge          Silistix           Manchester
    Buy.at           Newcastle          Skinkers           London
    DeepStream       Bangor             StorMagic          Bristol
    Technologies
    DisplayLink      Cambridge          Streamburst        London
    Garlik           Richmond           Touch Local        London
    Intamac Systems  Northampton        Trampolene Systems London
    Lein Applied     Reading            Tribold            London
    Diagnostics
    Lontra           London             Ubiquisys          Swindon
    Nimbus           Rowlands Castle    We7                Oxford
    Nomad Digital    Newcastle          Workshare          London
    Pixsta           London             Zubka              London



Sir Robin Saxby addresses winners

At a gala dinner for the winners held last night at Madame Tussauds in
London - co-hosted by Doughty Hanson Technology Ventures and attended by 290
people - Sir Robin Saxby, former chairman of ARM Holdings and former
president of the Institution of Engineering and Technology, said: "The Tech
Tour has demonstrated that England has world class engineers able to develop
world class technologies. We should take strength in our own determination
and confidence in knowing that big, valuable businesses and technology
innovation can be developed from these shores, and give advice to aspiring
technology entrepreneurs to make sure they are well connected globally."

Next steps for winners

The next step for the winning companies is to formally present their
business plans in a four-city road show, which will be held in London,
Southampton, Manchester and Reading from 17-19 October. During the road show,
the companies will meet with the participating venture capitalists and
corporate delegates to present a case for investment, covering the following
points:

- What they do and how they make money

- Size and attributes of their market or problem solved with their
solution

- The company's 'breakthrough' and the customer benefits that go with it

- Competitive position and advantage

- Strength and relevance of the management team and partners

- Go-to-market strategy

- Current momentum the company has in the marketplace

Participating companies will receive expert feedback and advice on their
business and product development plans from the potential investors -
something they would not normally have access to. At the same time, the
venture capitalists will evaluate each company for potential funding. The
road show also presents participants with an opportunity for networking, not
just with potential investors, but with their technology peers.

And what of the 2004 winners?

To a degree, the 2007 English Tech Tour winners can look to the past to
see what the future holds. The majority of the winners of the previous
English Tech Tour, held in 2004, have met with market and financial success.
Following the 2004 Tech Tour, 15 of the 24 winners received subsequent
funding worth $590 million cumulatively. Five winners have been involved in
M&A activity totalling $77 million, and one saw a successful IPO that
generated $36 million.

Arundale concluded: "Since the last English Tech Tour in 2004, we have
seen a number of trends. These include more cross fertilisation across
technology industry sectors, the emergence of clean tech and a consolidation
in the number of VC firms specialising in the technology sectors. Also, we
are seeing more serial entrepreneurs, a greater willingness to take a risk
and set up as an entrepreneur generally and more funding for technology
ventures from institutions."

Notes to Editors

(i)Source: British Private Equity and Venture Capital Association Report
on Investment Activity 2006. Technology investments in England were GBP851
million in 2006 compared with GBP292 million in 2004. Funds raised for
technology ventures for the UK as a whole were GBP803 million in 2006; in
2004 they were just GBP110 million. 2004 was the last time the English Tech
Tour took place.

(ii)Source: Data courtesy of Jefferies Broadview, 2007.

The Selection Committee for the 2007 English Tech Tour:

- Keith Arundale, President 2007 ETT

- Kjell Nace, Vice-President 2007 ETT

- Madhuban Kumar, Vice-President 2007 ETT

- Tina Baker, Brown Rudnick

- Max Bautin, IQ Capital/NW Brown

- Mike Biercliffe

- Jamie Brooke, Quester

- Nicola Byrne, Balderton Capital

- Jean-Michel Deligny, Go4Venture

- Paul Di Leo

- Carlos Espinal, Doughty Hanson

- Paul Fisher, Advent Venture Partners

- Martin Gibson, Atlas Venture

- Romain Gonthier, Jefferies International

- Nigel Grierson, Doughty Hanson

- Charles Irving, Pond Venture Partners

- Vesa Jormakka, Argo Global Capital

- Nick Kingsbury, Kingsbury Ventures

- Sergi Martorell, 3i

- Tony Morris, Morris Company

- Roy Merritt, Amadeus Capital Partners

- Paul Murray, Esprit Capital Partners

- Jay Patel, NewMedia Investors

- Mauro Pretolani, TLCom

- Mark Taylor, Noble Venture Finance

- Jonathan Tikochinsky, Oracle

- Andy Tsao, SVB Global

- Ajay Vohora, Create Partners

About European Tech Tour

The European Tech Tour Association (ETT) was founded by Sven Lingjaerde
in Switzerland in 1998 and has successfully organised 27 Tech Tours across
Europe and a premiÚre in India last year since its inception nine years ago.
In response to the growing interest to visit emerging technology companies in
various European regions, the ETT is an independent organisation composed of
key contributors to the high-technology industry.

Focused on the global expansion of emerging companies with a high index
of growth, the European Tech Tour Association's main objective is to provide
independent leading platforms designed to identify and support the emerging
companies with the necessary potential to impact in the technological global
scenario. The association recognises that continued European prosperity lies
in its ability to transform today's innovative projects into tomorrow's
global technology leaders.

For further information, please go to http://www.techtour.com

Thanks to the Tech Tour sponsors for their generous support