Investment in Caribbean

Dolphin Capital Investors Limited
03 January 2008


3 January 2008


          Dolphin Capital Investors Limited ('Dolphin' or the 'Company')


         FIRST INVESTMENT OUTSIDE EASTERN MEDITERRANEAN AND VENUS ROCK

                         ENHANCED DEVELOPMENT POTENTIAL



Dolphin, currently the leading investor in the residential resort sector in the
eastern Mediterranean and the largest real estate investment company listed on
AIM, is pleased to announce today its first investment outside its core
investment region. This intention was confirmed to shareholders in the Company's
Interim Results statement on 18 September 2007 and follows the amendment in the
Company's investment policy during its fundraising in June 2007.



In addition, Dolphin is pleased to report favourable changes to the current
zoning status of Venus Rock Golf Resort.



Highlights of the Company's first investment outside its core investment region:



  • Dolphin is entering into a joint venture (the 'Joint Venture') with Aman
    Resorts, for the acquisition and development of Playa Grande (the 'Project
    '), an exclusive leisure-integrated residential resort on a 790-hectare site
    (the 'Site') along one of the most spectacular beaches in the Dominican
    Republic. Aman Resorts, one of the Company's existing operating partners, is
    already successfully operating the Amanyara Resort in the nearby Turks &
    Caicos islands.



  • Playa Grande is to comprise a 40-room Aman hotel and 40 Aman villas, a
    200-room five-star golf hotel most likely to be operated by GHM (Aman
    Resorts' affiliated brand) and approximately 350 cliff, golf and seafront
    residential units. Jean-Michel Gathy, world-renowned resort architect and
    Dolphin's project partner in Kilada Hills and Livka Bay, will be designing
    what is set to become the Dominican Republic's first Aman Resort.



•   Dolphin will participate with a stake of at least 70% in the Joint
    Venture, which has acquired 100% of Playa Grande Holdings ('PGH'), the entity
    owning the Site, for an enterprise value of up to $57 million (€38.8 million).
    The remaining shares in the Joint Venture will be owned by Aman Resorts (up to
    25%) and private investors (up to 5%).



  • Based on this acquisition enterprise value, the Joint Venture is currently
    investing up to $23.5 million (€16 million) of equity capital to acquire the
    Project. The Joint Venture is also committing an additional $23 million
    (€15.7 million) to fund the design, permitting process and early stages of
    development and operation of the Project.



  • The Joint Venture will acquire approximately 715 hectares of the Site. The
    existing owners, some of the USA's most prominent individuals in the world
    of finance, media and the arts, will retain the remaining Site for their own
    use.



Details of the Investment:



Playa Grande, set to be developed into the Dominican Republic's first Aman
Resort, represents Dolphin's first investment outside its core investment
region. In June 2007 the Company's investment policy was varied to give Dolphin
an allocation equal to 5% of the Company's last reported NAV for investments in
new geographies outside the eastern Mediterranean where the directors consider
that such investments would be complementary to the Company's investment
portfolio and/or offer attractive returns. The Playa Grande development
represents the first use by the Company of these allocated funds and represents
an opportunity for significant capital returns in the fast-growing second home
market of the Dominican Republic.



The Site, owned by the Dominican Republic's Central Bank until 2004 and long
destined to be one of the nation's premier tourist resorts, is a Site of
striking natural beauty.  The resort boasts one of the last golf courses
designed by Robert Trent Jones Sr. Free from the limitations normally imposed by
developers on golf designers, he created a stunning course with ten of its holes
running alongside twenty-metre high cliffs bordering the Atlantic Ocean. The
70-hectare course is known as the 'Pebble Beach of the Caribbean' and is widely
perceived as one of the most magnificent golf courses in the western hemisphere.
Further details and photographs of the Site can be found at www.playagrande.com.



The Site comprises approximately 790 hectares and is located on and around the
spectacular Playa Grande beach, on the northern coast of the Dominican Republic.
The Site consists of approximately 9 km of seafront and is situated between the
two small towns of Cabrera and Rio San Juan, each approximately 8 km away.
Puerto Plata, the closest international airport, is just over an hour away by
car. The smaller airport of Nagua, which began receiving charter flights in
2006, is also only a 50-minute drive by car from the Site.



In July 2004, the Site was sold by the Central Bank to the existing owners who
represent some of the USA's most prominent individuals in the world of finance,
media and the arts. Their desire to work with Aman Resorts and alongside a
leading investor in upscale residential resorts resulted in Dolphin being
brought into the deal.



The Joint Venture has now acquired PGH and approximately 715 hectares of the
Site for an enterprise value of up to $57 million (€38.8 million) by undertaking
to deliver to the existing owners the remaining Site for them to build high-end
residential units for their own use in accordance with construction guidelines
set out in the sale and purchase agreement. Dolphin is participating in the
Joint Venture with a stake of at least 70% and the remaining shares will be
owned by Aman Resorts (up to 25%), a strategic partner of Dolphin and
participant in the Company's Amanmila and Seascape Hills resorts, and Axia
Ventures, a consortium of private investors (which can acquire up to 5% of the
Joint Venture). It should be noted that Antonios Achilleoudis, a director of
Axia Ventures, is also a member of the Board of Directors of Dolphin. The exact
shareholdings will be determined by March 2008.



As part of the transaction, the Joint Venture will be assuming two of PGH's
existing obligations: a $26 million liability to the Central Bank of the
Dominican Republic and a $7.5 million loan with Banco Leon, a prominent local
bank. Furthermore, the Joint Venture will undertake to cover the infrastructure
and utility costs to enable the existing owners to build approximately 74 villas
on their portion of the Site.



The Joint Venture and the existing owners share a unified vision in creating an
exclusive, low density and environmentally sensitive resort development that
complements the striking natural beauty of Playa Grande. They have agreed to
cooperate jointly regarding many aspects of the Site's development. A joint
philanthropic fund will also be established, aimed at supporting the local
community's environmental, cultural and educational needs, among others.



Based on an acquisition enterprise value of up to $57 million (€38.8 million),
the Joint Venture is currently investing up to $23.5 million (€16 million) of
equity capital to acquire the Project. The Joint Venture is also committing an
additional $23 million (€15.7 million), to fund the design, permitting process
and early stages of development and operation of the Project.



Playa Grande represents a unique opportunity for Dolphin to strengthen its ties
with Aman Resorts and, as previously stated to its shareholders, extend its
portfolio within the allocation limitations beyond its core investment region to
the Caribbean, Central and South American markets, which the Investment Manager
believes exhibit similar investment opportunities to those in south-east Europe.
The Dominican Republic, long known for its striking natural beauty and the
warmth of its people, is already a sought-after destination, attracting second
home investors from Europe, North and South America. Playa Grande is uniquely
positioned to capitalize on the recent success of existing resorts such as Casa
de Campo, Punta Cana and Cap Cana which have witnessed record high selling
prices of $7,000-15,000 (€5,039-10,797) per buildable square metre and
$750-1,500 (€540-1,080) per square metre of land.



The Project, to be designed by world-renowned architect Jean-Michel Gathy of
Denniston International (www.denniston.com.my), will be developed as a luxury
seafront residential resort with a 40-room Aman hotel, 40 Aman villas
(www.amanresorts.com), a 200-room five-star golf hotel most likely to be
operated by GHM (Aman Resort's affiliated brand, www.ghmhotels.com) and
approximately 350 mountain, golf and seafront residential units. In addition,
the existing shareholders will build approximately 74 villas on their retained
land, which will be master-planned and developed as an integral part of the
Playa Grande resort. The Joint Venture will also be upgrading the existing golf
course and will create supporting recreational, sports and retail facilities.
The Project is at an advanced stage in terms of permits, having already received
a final environment impact permit and has obtained a 10-year tax exemption
status.


Progress at Venus Rock Golf Resort:


Dolphin is also pleased to report today on favourable amendments to the current
zoning status of Venus Rock Golf Resort ('Venus Rock' or the 'Resort'), in
accordance to a new zoning plan announced by the Government of Cyprus for
certain parts of the island.



Amongst the various positive amendments for Venus Rock, the most important one
is that according to the new plan approximately 56 hectares of land have been
converted from agricultural to residential for holiday-home use with a 25%
building coefficient. These amendments result in increased development
potential, improved product-mix and accelerated time-frame of the permitting
process for part of the Resort and are expected to have a significant positive
impact on the value of Venus Rock, to be reflected in the Company's results for
the twelve months to 31 December 2007.


Dolphin is managed by Dolphin Capital Partners ('DCP' or the 'Investment Manager
').




Miltos Kambourides, Managing Partner of DCP, commented:



'We are delighted to be partnering again with Adrian Zecha, through his Aman
Resorts and GHM Hotels companies, to create what is expected to be one of the
Caribbean's premier resorts, leveraging also on the experience gained from the
success of Amanyara, located in the nearby Turks & Caicos islands and also
designed by Jean-Michel Gathy.



'We believe that this project will benefit from the supply-demand imbalance for
premium branded residential resorts in the region and should create substantial
value for our shareholders.'



He added:



'The zoning changes announced by the Government of Cyprus have come at a very
opportune time and will undoubtedly allow for more flexibility in the
master-planning and overall design of Venus Rock. Its additional development
potential is expected to generate considerable incremental value as Venus Rock,
one of the largest seafront residential resort development sites in Europe,
establishes itself as the first major Dolphin golf-integrated resort to come to
market.'


For further information, please contact:

Dolphin Capital Partners
Miltos Kambourides / Pierre Charalambides
[e-mail] / [e-mail]

Grant Thornton Corporate Finance                             Tel: [phone]
(Nominated Adviser)
Philip Secrett/ Fiona Kindness

Panmure Gordon                                               Tel: [phone]
(Broker)
Richard Gray / Dominic Morley / Andrew Potts

Financial Dynamics                                           Tel: [phone]
(Public Relations)
Stephanie Highett / Nicole Marino / Dido Laurimore




Notes to Editors



Dolphin Capital Investors

Dolphin, currently the largest real estate investment company listed on AIM,
seeks to provide shareholders with strong capital growth combined with a low
risk profile through investing in early-stage, large-scale, leisure-integrated
residential resorts mainly in south-east Europe in partnership with world
leading designers and operators. Dolphin's shares commenced trading on AIM in
December 2005 raising £70.7 million (€104 million) at an issue price of 68p,
followed by a £202.7 million (€300 million) secondary offering at a price of 93p
per share in October 2006. In June 2007, Dolphin raised an additional £303
million (€450 million) in a follow-on issuance priced at 170p per common share.



With this investment in the Dominican Republic, Dolphin has in total invested
approximately €443 million and committed approximately €670 million to various
projects in Greece, Cyprus, Croatia, Turkey and the Dominican Republic. Dolphin
is also the 85% owner of Aristo Developers Plc, one of the region's largest and
most experienced holiday home developers.



Dolphin Capital Partners

DCP is an independent investment management business founded in 2004 by Miltos
Kambourides and Pierre Charalambides after leaving Soros Real Estate Partners.



The DCP professionals combine extensive local knowledge and contacts with
expertise gained at some of the world's leading financial institutions. They
specialise in providing capital to rigorously selected real estate developments
mainly in the eastern Mediterranean, typically through joint ventures with local
developers. DCP cooperates with an international and sophisticated network of
operators, designers, master-planners and marketing agents for each of its
developments.








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