Re New Investments

Brainspark PLC 13 September 2000 BRAINSPARK PLC ANNOUNCES TWO NEW INVESTMENTS Brainspark, the incubator business focused on germinating and developing Internet-related and technology businesses today announced two new investments. NEW INVESTMENT IN A B2B RAIL INDUSTRY PORTAL An investment of £400,000 in a corporate e-commerce carve-out with a listed participant in the rail industry is also announced today. The new business is a rail industry portal and is being developed in partnership with Diamond Technology Partners. The identity of the corporate partner will be announced in the near future. This project represents Brainspark's first corporate carve-out initiative and follows on from the Strategic Partnership with Diamond Technology Partners which was announced last month. The new business will be creating a community for technical specialists revenues will come from its role as a global marketplace for used and surplus stock, and an exchange for expertise in the areas of maintenance, refurbishment, design and manufacturing. Rail is a global, US$300 billion industry. Investment is accelerating as rich countries struggle with road congestion and developing countries seek to establish basic infrastructure. The industry is technically and geographically fragmented, but manufacturers, technical advisors and investors are operating on a global level. NEW INVESTMENT IN QUE PASA Que Pasa is a new business operating within the dance music and clubbing market. Dance is a genre representing 15% of total global music sales and in the UK alone some 10 million young adults aged 16-30 go clubbing at least once a month. The Que Pasa team brings with it extensive off-line experience from the music and publishing worlds in marketing to this demographic group. Que Pasa is being headed up by Mark Maddox who was until recently, Managing Editor of DMC Publishing which is the UK based publisher of Seven, the world' s only dance music weekly. He was also Managing Editor of Mixer, the biggest-selling dance-music club music magazine in the US and Canada. He is joined by Nick Green, an experienced journalist and formerly The Guardian's youth culture expert. Nick also edited Seven magazine. Revenues will come predominantly through commercialising its media network and also through advertising. Brainspark has invested £500,000 into Que Pasa. Mark Maddox, Chief Executive, Que Pasa commented: 'Brainspark understood the revenue potential of this valuable consumer group and could provide us with the tools we need to grow a substantial business. We were impressed with the set-up at Brainspark and the strength of their management team.' Later this year, Que Pasa will be launching their first web business, Burnitblue.com which aims to become the definitive online authority on the latest developments in the dance music and clubbing market. Stewart Dodd, Brainspark's Chief Executive, said: 'These two investments are exciting additions to our portfolio and take the total number of companies we are incubating to sixteen. The rail industry portal is our first carve-out business where we are drawing upon our Strategic Partnership with Diamond Technology Partners. Que Pasa is working with a demographic with substantial global revenue potential. To be successful in this market it is essential to have experienced people with a solid understanding of the industry and I think we would be hard to find a better calibre team. Enquiries: Brainspark (020 7843 6600) Stewart Dodd David Hart Que Pasa (020 7843 7802) Mark Maddox Citigate Dewe Rogerson (020 7638 9571) Martin Jackson Charles Vivian
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