Preliminary Results

nanoUniverse PLC
13 March 2001


                               NANOUNIVERSE PLC

                      ('nanoUniverse' or 'the company')

    PRELIMINARY RESULTS FOR THE PERIOD 7 OCTOBER 1999 TO 31 DECEMBER 2000

nanoUniverse plc is a holding company that has invested in, developed and
operated companies that were positioned to capitalise on the Internet's
transition to broadband. The Company was admitted to the Alternative
Investment Market on 2 March 2000, raising £25.7 million, net of expenses.
nanoUniverse today announced its preliminary results for the period from 7
October 1999 to 31 December 2000.

HIGHLIGHTS:


  * Cash reserves remain strong at approximately £25 million.

  * The Board's prudent approach to investments has resulted in the
    preservation of the Company's capital.

  * Focus on overhead control with restricted cash burn.

  * The Board does not expect further write downs to the investment
    portfolio.

  * Having conducted a detailed review of investment opportunities set
    against a background of greatly altered market conditions, a strategic
    repositioning of the Company is considered necessary in order to deliver
    shareholder value.

  * The Board proposes to capitalise on its extensive experience to produce
    and distribute first class entertainment content, addressing the needs of
    both traditional content users as well as those of potential new entrants,
    whilst at the same time returning a significant part of its capital to
    shareholders.

Alan Buggy, Chairman, commented:

'It has been an extraordinary year for nanoUniverse. Despite the transience
and volatility of market conditions, we have confined our losses to a minimum,
thus safeguarding the Company's capital and placing us in a strong position to
change the Company's strategy with a view to delivering long term value to our
shareholders.'

                                                                 13 March 2001
Enquiries:
College Hill                            Tel:      [phone]
Nicola Weiner                           Email: [e-mail]
Clare Warren                            Email: [e-mail]

nanoUniverse plc                        Tel:      [phone]
Alan Buggy, Chairman                    Email: [e-mail]
Kiran Sidhu, Chief Financial Officer    Email: [e-mail]


                               NANOUNIVERSE PLC

    PRELIMINARY RESULTS FOR THE PERIOD 7 OCTOBER 1999 TO 31 DECEMBER 2000

                             CHAIRMAN'S STATEMENT



Results

I am pleased to announce nanoUniverse's results for the period from 7 October
1999 to 31 December 2000.

The outcome for the period was a loss before tax of £807,738. The loss
includes the results of nanoUniverse's two investments that were made during
the period, details of which are set out in my review of our investments
below, together with pre-trading losses that were set out in the original
admission document dated 24 February 2000. These two non-recurring items
accounted for just under £300,000 of our losses for the period; the balance of
the loss before tax consists largely of operating costs incurred during our
first 14 months of operation.

nanoUniverse's financial position remains strong with net current assets at
the end of the period of approximately £25 million, comprised principally of
cash and liquid short-term deposits.

Investment Review

During the course of the last year, we have received and closely reviewed many
investment opportunities, the large majority of which did not meet our
demanding investment criteria. Whilst we did make initial investments in
botBeat.com, a content site for students, and in NextEnt.com, a web-based
comedy content aggregator, the dramatic change in market conditions and, in
particular, the volatility and unreliability of online advertising, led us to
cease further investment in both of these projects.

We also pursued several other potential investments but subsequently decided
not to invest after due diligence indicated that these projects did not fulfil
the strict investment criteria we laid out at the time of flotation.
Non-binding heads of agreement were signed in connection with potential
investments in iSees.com, VegasBeat and, in May 2000, the acquisition of a
controlling stake in Reservision, Inc., a web and interactive media design and
development firm. Again, in light of market conditions and our ongoing due
diligence of these business models, your Board allowed all these potential
deals to lapse.

We have written off approximately £187,000 invested in these companies. All of
these costs have been fully provided for and the Board does not expect further
write-downs in the future from our current investment portfolio.

Market Conditions

The last 12 months have seen enormous changes in the ability of both start-up
and later-stage Internet-based businesses to fund and successfully prove their
business models in the face of rapidly evolving market forces. Such has been
the speed of change in the Internet market that many of the business models we
reviewed in early 2000 were already either no longer viable or their
likelihood of success had significantly diminished.

At the same time, the market for both second-stage and IPO funding had also
deteriorated rapidly for many Internet related investments. Our original
investment strategy relied heavily upon being able to make small investments
in early-stage concepts that could then raise additional equity at higher
multiples in the IPO or secondary private markets prior to profitability.
However, in light of these changed market conditions, we now believe that it
has become too risky to invest in such unproven and evolving concepts that
depend significantly or entirely on such additional future equity funding to
reach cash break-even.

Your Board quickly grasped and rapidly adapted to this new market environment.
We began to look for concepts and start-up businesses, with strong management
teams that would be funded from the outset with sufficient capital to enable
them to develop into profitable businesses. As such projects are likely to
require more substantial initial funding, we began looking to work with both
strategic and financial investors who may have a significant interest in such
projects and would therefore be prepared to invest alongside us.

Change of Business and Return of Capital

As a result of this process, your Board began, in late 2000, to examine
specific opportunities in the entertainment media sector and to work on a new
strategy that involves plans to change nanoUniverse's business. The Board has
recognised a need in the market for first class entertainment content that
addresses the needs of both traditional content users, such as television
companies, as well as those of potential new entrants in the
'direct-to-the-home' content delivery business, and the proposed new business
will look to produce and distribute such content on behalf of key strategic
and financial partners in an innovative and financially lucrative business
structure.

In the meantime, the Board has adopted a prudent approach, which together with
a focus on overhead control has preserved the Company's valuable capital.

The Board is now close to finalising a proposal to put to shareholders for
this change in strategic direction. This proposal will allow the Company to
implement a change of business in a manner that the Board believes will offer
significant potential for growth in shareholder value, while at the same time
allowing the Company immediately to return a significant part of its capital
to its shareholders. The Board aims to post a circular to shareholders as soon
as possible, and certainly within the next few weeks, setting out this
proposal in detail and seeking all relevant approvals.


                                                                 Alan R. Buggy

                                                                      Chairman

                                                                 13 March 2001



                               NANOUNIVERSE PLC

    PRELIMINARY RESULTS FOR THE PERIOD 7 OCTOBER 1999 TO 31 DECEMBER 2000

                     CONSOLIDATED PROFIT AND LOSS ACCOUNT

                    for the period ended 31 December 2000
                                                                          Total
                                                                      7 October
                                           Continuing  Discontinued     1999 to
                                           operations    Operations          31
                                                                       December
                                                 2000          2000        2000
                                      Note          £             £           £
Administrative expenses                    (1,833,569)     (179,186) (2,012,755)
Operating loss                             (1,833,569)     (179,186) (2,012,755)
Interest receivable                         1,205,017             -   1,205,017
Loss on ordinary activities before           (628,552)     (179,186)   (807,738)
taxation
Tax on loss on ordinary activities                                       (7,000)
Loss for the financial period                                           814,738
Basic and diluted loss per share       2                                  (3.5p)

All recognised gains and losses are included in the profit and loss account.

Discontinued operations represent the activities of Botbeat Inc and
NextEnt.net Inc.



                                BALANCE SHEET

                             at 31 December 2000
                                                      Group             Company
                                                       2000                2000
                                                          £                   £
Fixed assets
Tangible assets                                     125,210                   -
Investments                                               -                   3
                                                    125,210                   3
Current assets
Debtors                                              52,980             201,388
Cash at bank and in hand                         25,024,957          24,911,880
                                                 25,077,937          25,113,268
Creditors: amounts falling due within one year    (268,678)           (180,984)
Net current assets                               24,809,259          24,932,284
Total assets less current liabilities            24,934,469          24,932,287

Capital and reserves
Called up share capital                             327,500             327,500
Share premium account                            25,421,707          25,421,707
Profit and loss account                           (814,738)           (816,920)
Shareholders' funds - equity interests           24,934,469          24,932,287



                               NANOUNIVERSE PLC

    PRELIMINARY RESULTS FOR THE PERIOD 7 OCTOBER 1999 TO 31 DECEMBER 2000

                             CASH FLOW STATEMENT

                    for the period ended 31 December 2000
                                                       7 October 1999 to

                                                       31 December 2000

                                                      £'000               £'000
Net cash outflow from operating activities                          (1,763,812)
Returns on investments and servicing of finance
Interest received                                 1,192,503
Net cash inflow from returns on investment and
servicing of finance                                                  1,192,503

Capital expenditure and financial investment
Payments to acquire tangible assets               (152,941)
Net cash outflow from capital expenditure                             (152,941)
Net cash outflow before management of liquid
resources and financing                                               (724,250)
Management of liquid resources
Increase in short term deposits                                    (24,868,474)

Financing
Issue of ordinary share capital                  27,057,500
Costs of share issue                            (1,308,293)

Net cash inflow from financing                                       25,749,207
Increase in cash in the period                                          156,483


                                    NOTES

 1. Publication of non-statutory accounts

    The financial information set out above does not constitute the company's
    statutory accounts for the period 7th October 1999 to 31st December 2000,
    but is derived from those accounts. Statutory accounts for 2000 will be
    delivered to the Registrar of Companies following the company's annual
    general meeting. The auditors have reported on these accounts; their
    report was unqualified and did not contain statements under s237(2) or (3)
    Companies Act 1985.

    The Company's 2000 Annual Report and Financial Statements, including the
    notice of the forthcoming

    Annual General Meeting will be posted to shareholders on the 14th March
    2001.


 2. Basic and diluted loss per share


    Basic and diluted loss per ordinary share has been calculated using
    the weighted average number of shares in issue during the financial
    period. The weighted average number of equity shares in issue was
    23,223,334 and the loss after tax was £814,738. No potential ordinary
    shares have been treated as dilutive as their conversion to ordinary
    shares would decrease the net loss per share.