Holding(s) in Company

07 October 2010
IQE plc
("IQE" or the "Company")

Holding(s) in Company



+------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
|TR-1: NOTIFICATION OF MAJOR INTEREST IN SHARES(i)                             |
+----------------------------------------------+-------------------------------+
                                               |
+----------------------------------------------+-------------------------------+
|1. Identity of the issuer or the underlying   |                               |
|issuer                                        |            IQE PLC            |
|of existing shares to which voting rights are |                               |
|attached:(ii)                                 |                               |
+----------------------------------------------+-------------------------------+
|2 Reason for the notification (please tick the appropriate box or boxes):     |
+--------------------------------------------------------------------+---------+
|An acquisition or disposal of voting rights                         |    X    |
+--------------------------------------------------------------------+---------+
|An acquisition or disposal of qualifying financial instruments which|         |
|may result in the acquisition of shares already issued to which     |         |
|voting rights are attached                                          |         |
+--------------------------------------------------------------------+---------+
|An acquisition or disposal of instruments with similar economic     |         |
|effect to qualifying financial instruments                          |         |
+--------------------------------------------------------------------+---------+
|An event changing the breakdown of voting rights                    |         |
+-----------------------+--------------------------------------------+---------+
|Other (please specify):|                                            |         |
+-----------------------+--------------+-----------------------------+---------+
|3. Full name of person(s) subject to  |                                       |
|the                                   |T. Rowe Price Associates, Inc.         |
|notification obligation:(iii)         |                                       |
+--------------------------------------+---------------------------------------+
|4. Full name of shareholder(s)        | (See Section 9)                       |
| (if different from 3.):(iv)          |                                       |
+--------------------------------------+---------------------------------------+
|5. Date of the transaction and date on|                                       |
|which the threshold is crossed or     |5 October 2010                         |
|reached: (v)                          |                                       |
+--------------------------------------+---------------------------------------+
|6. Date on which issuer notified:     |6 October 2010                         |
+--------------------------------------+---------------------------------------+
|7. Threshold(s) that is/are crossed or|5%                                     |
|reached:(vi, vii)                     |                                       |
+-----------------------+--------------+-------+---------------------+---------+




+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
|8. Notified details:                                                               |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
|A: Voting rights attached to shares (viii, ix)                                     |
+------------+----------------------+-----------------------------------------------+
|Class/type  |Situation previous    |Resulting situation after the triggering       |
|of          |to the triggering     |transaction                                    |
|shares      |transaction           |                                               |
|            +----------+-----------+-------------+-----------------+---------------+
|if possible |Number    |Number     |Number       |Number of voting |% of  voting   |
|using       |of        |of         |of shares    |rights           |rights (x)     |
|the ISIN    |  ares    |V ting     +-------------+------+----------+------+--------+
|CODE        |          |Rights     |Direct       |Direct|Indirect  |Direct|Indirect|
|            |          |           |             |(xi)  |(xii)     |      |        |
+------------+----------+-----------+-------------+------+----------+------+--------+
|GB0009619924|22,015,840| 22,015,840|             |      |33,815,840|      |    6.61|
+------------+----------+-----------+-------------+------+----------+------+--------+

+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
|B: Qualifying Financial Instruments                                                |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
|Resulting situation after the triggering transaction                               |
+--------------+----------+------------------------+-----------------+--------------+
|Type of       |Expiration|Exercise/               |Number of voting |% of voting   |
|financial     |date(xiii)|Conversion Period(xiv)  |rights that may  |rights        |
|instrument    |          |                        |be               |              |
|              |          |                        |acquired if the  |              |
|              |          |                        |instrument is    |              |
|              |          |                        |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 rights     |
|financial    |price    |date      |Conversion   |voting    |(xix, xx)              |
|instrument   |         |(xvii)    |period(xviii)|rights    |                       |
|             |         |          |             |instrument|                       |
|             |         |          |             |refers to |                       |
|             |         |          |             |          |                       |
+-------------+---------+----------+-------------+----------+---------------+-------+
|             |         |          |             |          |Nominal        |Delta  |
|             |         |          |             |          +---------------+-------+
|             |         |          |             |          |               |       |
+-------------+---------+----------+-------------+----------+---------------+-------+

+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
|Total (A+B+C)                                                                      |
+------------------------------------+----------------------------------------------+
|Number of voting rights             |Percentage of voting rights                   |
+------------------------------------+----------------------------------------------+
|33,815,840                          |6.61                                          |
+------------+++--------+-+--------+++-----------+++-----+--+-------++-----++-------+




+------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
|9. Chain of controlled undertakings through which the voting rights and/or the|
|financial instruments are effectively held, if applicable:(xxi)               |
+------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
|T. Rowe Price Associates, Inc (TRPA) is the parent undertaking of T. Rowe     |
|Price International, Inc. (TRPI). TRPI is a direct, wholly-owned subsidiary of|
|TRPA. TRPA and TRPI serve as investment adviser, with dispositive and voting  |
|authority, to various institutional clients that own shares of IQE plc,       |
|including T. Rowe Price International Discovery Fund, which owns 31,000,000   |
|shares. Such shares are registered in the following name(s):                  |
|                                                                              |
|                                                                              |
|Chase Nominees Ltd - 33,033,140                                               |
|                                                                              |
|Bank of New York Mellon - 782,700                                             |
|                                                                              |
+------------------------------------------------------------------------------+


+------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
|Proxy Voting:                                                                 |
+----------------------------------------------+-------------------------------+
|10. Name of the 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:                                |                               |
+----------------------------------------------+-------------------------------+

+-----------------------------+------------------------------------------------+
|                             |                                                |
|13. Additional information:  |The figures are based on 511,116,446 Ordinary   |
|                             |Shares in issue, as disclosed by the issuer on  |
|                             |5 October 2010 following the placement of       |
|                             |65,000,000 new ordinary shares. The T. Rowe     |
|                             |Price International Discovery Fund received     |
|                             |11,000,000 Ordinary Shares in the placement.    |
+-----------------------------+------------------------------------------------+
|14. Contact name:            |Dorothy Jones, Assistant Vice President, T.Rowe |
|                             |Price Associates, Inc.                          |
+-----------------------------+------------------------------------------------+
|15. Contact telephone number:|001 410 345 6603                                |
+-----------------------------+----------------+-------------------------------+





[HUG#1449981]








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