Directorate Change

IQE PLC
10 December 2004


Press Release                                                   10 December 2004


                     IQE plc ('the Group' or 'the Company')
                                        
                New Board Appointments and Directors shareholding
                                        
                                        
IQE plc, a leading supplier of advanced semiconductor wafers to the world
market, is pleased to announce the appointment of two executive directors to the
main board of the Group with immediate effect. Stuart Andrew Hall, 37, has been
appointed to the position of Chief Financial Officer and Dr Howard Robert
Williams, 50, to the position of Chief Operating Officer.

Stuart Hall joined IQE plc in July 2003 from Energis plc, having previously been
in senior finance roles within the manufacturing sector. Over the last 17
months, Stuart has been acting CFO to the Group and has been instrumental in the
Group's recent re-organisations, including the equity fundraising at the end of
last year.


Dr Williams has been with the Group for over 15 years, serving in a variety of
posts including General Manager of IQE Inc in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, and
General Manager of IQE Europe. He has also been a Director of IQE Europe for
over 8 years


Dr Godfrey Ainsworth, Chairman of IQE plc, said ' I am extremely pleased to
welcome both Howard and Stuart to the Board of IQE plc. Their combined talents,
experience and commitment will contribute strongly to the future growth and
success of the Group'


Furthermore, the Company today announces the granting of share options over
ordinary shares of 1p each in IQE plc ('Ordinary Shares') under the IQE plc
executive share option plan ('Share Options') to both Mr Hall and Dr Williams,
together with Dr Drew Nelson, President and CEO of IQE plc, as follows:

Director      No of Share     Exercise   Exercise period    Resultant Total number
              Options         Price (p)                     of Share Options held
              awarded

Stuart         1,800,000*    10.167p    07 December 2007 -             2,000,000
Hall                                    07 December 2014

Howard         1,850,000*    10.167p    07 December 2007 -             2,229,050
Williams                                07 December 2014

Drew           3,750,000*    10.167p    07 December 2007 -             3,750,000
Nelson                                  07 December 2014


*of these share options, 2,000,000 are granted subject to additional share
purchases by the Directors concerned.


The exercise of these Share Options is based upon the achievement of
profitability performance criteria, including individual subsidiary Company
profitability, Group profitability and Earnings per Share (EPS) growth in the
top 50% of TechMark listed Companies


As at today's date, Mr Hall is interested in 333,333 Ordinary Shares,
representing approximately 0.11 per cent. of the Company's current issued share
capital. These shares were purchased as part of the Company's placing in
November 2003. Dr Williams has an interest in 15,000 Ordinary Shares and Dr
Nelson has an interest in 26,724,637 Ordinary Shares, representing 8.51% of the
Company's issued share capital.


In the event that all issued options in IQE plc are exercised, the total shares
issued would represent 6.0% of the total shares in issue.


The Company confirms that there are no other disclosures required pursuant to
Schedule Two of the AIM Rules.


For further information, please contact

IQE plc:
Drew Nelson, President & CEO                            [phone]
Stuart Hall, CFO                                        [phone]
Chris Meadows, Investor Relations Manager               [phone]

Buchanan Communications :                               [phone]
Tim Thompson / Nicola Cronk




Notes to Editors:


About IQE: IQE is a leading outsource supplier of customised epitaxial wafers
and compound semiconductor substrates to the global semiconductor industry.
Materials produced by the Group operate at the forefront of technology,
typically in high speed electronics and optical systems for a diverse range of
devices including those used for data/audio/visual storage, optical
communications, wireless and RF devices and systems as well as an increasing
range of automotive, medical and industrial applications.



                      This information is provided by RNS
            The company news service from the London Stock Exchange