Holding(s) in Company

3 February 2009
For immediate release

                                    IQE plc
                            ("IQE" or the "Company")




+------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
|TR-1: Notifications of Major Interests in Shares                              |
+-------------------------------------------+----------------------------------+
|1. Identity of the issuer or the underlying|IQE PLC                           |
|issuer of existing shares to which voting  |                                  |
|rights are attached:                       |                                  |
+-------------------------------------------+----------------------------------+
|                                                                              |
|2. Reason for notification (yes/no)                                           |
+-------------------------------------------------------------------+----------+
|An acquisition or disposal of voting rights                        |Yes       |
|                                                                   |          |
+-------------------------------------------------------------------+----------+
|An acquisition or disposal of financial instruments which may      |No        |
|result in the acquisition of shares already issued to which voting |          |
|rights are attached                                                |          |
+-------------------------------------------------------------------+----------+
|An acquisition or disposal of instruments will similar economic    |No        |
|effect to qualifying financial instruments                         |          |
+-------------------------------------------------------------------+----------+
|                                                                   |No        |
|An event changing the breakdown of voting rights                   |          |
+-------------------------------------------------------------------+----------+
|                                                                   |No        |
|Other (please specify):______________                              |          |
+-------------------------------+-----------------------------------+----------+
|                               |AXA S.A, 25 Avenue Matignon, 75008 Paris and  |
|3. Full name of person(s)      |its group of companies                        |
|subject to notification        |                                              |
|obligation:                    |                                              |
+-------------------------------+----------------------------------------------+
|                               |                                              |
|4. Full name of shareholder(s) |                                              |
|(if different from 3):         |                                              |
+-------------------------------+----------------------------------------------+
|                               |1(st) February 2010                           |
|5. Date of transaction (and    |                                              |
|date on which the threshold is |                                              |
|crossed or reached if          |                                              |
|different):                    |                                              |
+-------------------------------+----------------------------------------------+
|                               |2(nd) February 2010                           |
|6. Date on which issuer        |                                              |
|notified:                      |                                              |
+-------------------------------+----------------------------------------------+
|                               |Increase in total holding from 10.93% to      |
|7. Threshold(s) that is/are    |11.04%                                        |
|crossed or reached:            |                                              |
+-------------------------------+-----------+-----------------------+----------+
                                |           |                       |




+------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
|8: Notified Details                                                           |
+------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
|A: Voting rights attached to shares                                           |
|                                                                              |
+-------------+----------------------+-----------------------------------------+
|Class/type of|Situation previous to |Resulting situation after the triggering |
|shares       |the triggering        |transaction                              |
|If possible  |transaction           |                                         |
|use ISIN code+-----------+----------+------+------------------+---------------+
|             |Number of  |Number of |Number|Number of voting  |Percentage of  |
|             |shares     |voting    |of    |rights            |voting rights  |
|             |           |rights    |shares+------+-----------+------+--------+
|             |           |          |      |Direct|Indirect   |Direct|Indirect|
|GB0009619924 |48,550,000 |48,550,000|      |      |           |      |        |
|             |           |          |      |      | 49,050,000|      |11.04%  |
+-------------+-----------+----------+------+------+-----------+------+--------+
              |           |          |      |      |           |      |

+------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
|B: Financial Instruments                                                      |
|                                                                              |
+------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
|Resulting situation after the triggering transaction                          |
|                                                                              |
+-------------+-------------+--------------+----------------------+------------+
|Type of      |Expiration   |Exercise/     |No. of voting rights  |Percentage  |
|financial    |date         |conversion    |that may be acquired  |of voting   |
|instrument   |             |period/date   |(if the instrument    |rights      |
|             |             |              |exercised/converted)  |            |
+-------------+-------------+--------------+----------------------+------------+
|             |             |              |                      |            |
|             |             |              |                      |            |
+-------------+-------------+--------------+----------------------+------------+
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

+------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
|C: Financial Instruments with similar economic effect to Qualifying Financial |
|Instruments xv, xvi                                                           |
+------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
|Resulting situation after the triggering transaction                          |
+------------+----------+------------+--------------+-----------+--------------+
|Type of     |Exercise  |Expiration  |Exercise/     |Number of  |% of voting   |
|financial   |price     |date (xvii) |Conversion    |voting     |rights (xix,  |
|instrument  |          |            |period(xviii) |rights     |xx)           |
|            |          |            |              |instrument |              |
|            |          |            |              |refers to  |              |
+------------+----------+------------+--------------+-----------+-------+------+
|            |          |            |              |           |Nominal|Delta |
|            |          |            |              |           +-------+------+
|            |          |            |              |           |       |      |
+------------+----------+------------+--------------+-----------+-------+------+


+-------------------------------------------------------+
| Total (A+B+C)                                         |
|                                                       |
+-------------------------+-----------------------------+
| Number of voting rights | Percentage of voting rights |
+-------------------------+-----------------------------+
| 49,050,000              | 11.04%                      |
+-------------------------+-----------------------------+




+------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
|9. Chain of controlled undertakings through which the voting rights and /or   |
|the financial instruments are effectively held, if applicable:                |
+------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
|Name of the Company / Fund               Number of Shares                    %|
|of issued share capital                                                       |
|AXA IM UK                                          49,050,000                 |
|                       11.04                                                  |
|                                                                              |
|Indirect                                                                      |
|                                                                              |
|Total Direct                                           0                      |
|                        0.00000                                               |
|Total Indirect                                         49,050,000             |
|                        11.04                                                 |
|                                                                              |
+------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
|TOTAL                                                49,050,000               |
|                       11.04                                                  |
+------------------------------------------------------------------------------+



+----------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Proxy Voting:                                                        |
|                                                                      |
+------------------------------------------------------------------+---+
| 10. Name of proxy holder:                                        |   |
|                                                                  |   |
+------------------------------------------------------------------+---+
| 11. Number of voting rights proxy holder will cease to hold:     |   |
|                                                                  |   |
+------------------------------------------------------------------+---+
| 12. Date on which proxy holder will cease to hold voting rights: |   |
|                                                                  |   |
+------------------------------------------------------------------+---+



[HUG#1379883]