Investment in Coe Group

IP Group PLC
01 August 2006


              IP Group subscribes for shares in COE Group Placing


                         ('IP Group' or the 'Company')


IP Group plc (code: IPO), the intellectual property commercialisation company,
is pleased to announce that it is investing £500,000 by subscribing for
6,250,000 new ordinary shares in COE Group plc ('COE') as part of a placing of
11,875,000 ordinary shares at eight pence per share announced by COE today ('the
Placing'). The Placing will raise £950,000 (before expenses) for COE. The
Placing represents a discount of 38.5% to the closing mid-market price of COE of
13 pence on 31 July 2006.


Following the Placing, and subject to COE shareholders approving the whitewash
of IP Group and Richard Farleigh (two of the placees) on 24 August 2006, IP
Group and Richard Farleigh will own 61.0% of COE's enlarged share capital.
Richard Farleigh is one of IP Group's key business angels who has backed over 50
early stage technology companies including Wolfson Microelectronics plc, ARC
International plc, Amino Technologies plc, ANT plc, Celoxica Holdings plc,
Oxonica plc and Clearspeed Technology plc.


With a 16 year track record of innovation in video surveillance, COE has
developed a portfolio of rugged products for camera control, video transmission,
scene analysis, operator display and recording which interface with most major
third party systems. These systems are designed to work reliably in extreme
environments for many years. The company also provides services including system
design, on-site test, commissioning and long-term maintenance. COE sells through
regional and global systems integrators such as Siemens, Alcatel and Singapore
Technologies, and through an extensive network of Value Added Resellers. At 30
June 2005, the value of COE's gross assets (net of deposits and loan notes) were
£3.6 million and the losses attributable to those assets in the year ended 30
June 2005 were £1.0 million.


The Directors of IP Group believe that the digital surveillance market is a
growth industry and that this transaction will benefit IP Group's partners by
offering complementary technologies an alternative route to market while
simultaneously offering synergies with certain IP Group technologies and
portfolio companies.


IP Group and Richard Farleigh have confirmed that, following Admission, they
intend that the business of COE will continue in substantially the same form as
it does currently. However, both parties believe that they will be able to
assist COE to exploit synergies which have been identified between COE and
companies within the IP Group portfolio, to pursue a strategy of organic profit
growth through existing sales channels as well as strengthen the range of
products through appropriate corporate acquisitions.


Alan Aubrey, Chief Executive of IP Group, said: 'This is the first time in IP
Group's history that it has made a direct investment into another quoted
company, and it is consistent with our strategy of investing in interesting
technology companies where we see excellent opportunities and significant market
growth. We are extremely excited by the growth prospects for COE and are
particularly impressed with its international reputation for complex video
surveillance systems in demanding environments - something that has potential
operational and financial synergies with certain companies and technologies
within the IP Group portfolio. COE's management has made excellent progress in
the last few years and we are very much looking forward to working with them.'


Andrew Wallace, Chief Executive of COE Group, said: 'We are delighted that IP
Group sees the potential growth in COE. This transaction is a major endorsement
of COE's technology and its prospects while providing important financing for
COE to fund expansion and further exploit our products. IP Group's extensive
portfolio of core technologies, several of which have applications in the
surveillance and counter-terrorism markets, provides COE with excellent
technology sources for addressing customers' needs. We also plan to use IP
Group's extensive resources to help COE become a consolidator in the swiftly
evolving surveillance and security markets.'


For further information about IP Group plc, please contact:


IP Group plc 020 7489 5200

Magnus Goodlad (Executive Director)

Liz Vaughan-Adams (communications) 020 74895206/07979 853802


Buchanan Communications 020 7466 5000

Mark Court, Tim Anderson, Mary-Jane Johnson


COE Group


Andrew Wallace 0113 230 8800


Notes for Editors


About IP Group


IP Group Plc is an intellectual property (IP) commercialisation company that
specialises in commercialising university technology. Founded in 2001, IP Group
listed on AiM in October 2003 and moved to the Official List in June 2006. It
has made two acquisitions to date - Techtran, a company set up to commercialise
university intellectual property under a long term contract with the University
of Leeds, in 2005 and Top Technology Ventures, an investment adviser to early
stage technology venture capital funds, in 2004.


The group has formed long-term partnerships with eight universities - the
University of Oxford, King's College London, CNAP/University of York, the
University of Leeds, the University of Bristol, the University of Surrey, the
University of Southampton and Queen Mary, University of London.


As at 13 June 2006, 42 spin-out companies had been created among the group's
university partners. Of those, seven have listed on the AiM market of the London
Stock Exchange and there has been one trade sale.


For more information, please visit our website at www.ipgroupplc.com


About COE


COE is a leading developer and exporter of advanced video surveillance (CCTV)
systems with a global installed base of large safety-critical systems, many in
extreme environments. COE focuses on three sectors - traffic & transport,
city-centre surveillance and industrial complexes. Traffic and transport
references include the London Congestion Charge, the underground rail systems in
France, Singapore, Hong Kong & Delhi, high-speed rail systems in Spain, Germany
and the UK, airports across Germany, Hong Kong and SE Asia and road systems
worldwide. City-centre systems include over 35 UK towns and cities while
industrial complexes include the South Pars gas field in the Middle East.


www.coe.co.uk


ENDS



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