Admission to AIM

Sarantel Group PLC
02 March 2005



                      

                               Sarantel Group PLC

                    Admission to AIM - First Day of Dealings

Sarantel, the leading manufacturer of revolutionary filtering antennas for
wireless devices, today announces completion of its Admission to AIM and the
commencement of trading in its Ordinary Shares.

Highlights:

The Placing

   •The Company has raised approximately £16.7million (net of expenses)
    through a placing by Arbuthnot Securities of 21,951,220 ordinary shares at
    82 pence per share


   •The Placing Shares will represent approximately 42 percent of the
    Enlarged Share Capital of the Company following Admission


   •On Admission, the Company will have a market capitalisation of
    approximately £43.0 million


   •Arbuthnot Securities Limited, nominated adviser and broker to Sarantel
    has placed all of these shares with institutional and other investors


   •The net proceeds of the Placing receivable by the Company will be
    utilised to position Sarantel as a major supplier of antenna technology to
    the wireless devices market worldwide


   •Sarantel will be included in the IT Hardware sector (93) within the
    Telecommunications equipment sub-sector (938) and will have a RIC code of
    SLG.L

Commenting on the Admission, David Wither, CEO said:
'We are very pleased to have had such an overwhelmingly positive response to our
fund raising and are delighted to be joining AIM today. The money raised and the
profile the listing gives us will help us with our ambition to position Sarantel
as a major supplier of antenna technology to the wireless devices market
worldwide.'

For further information please contact:
Sarantel Group PLC                                   www.sarantel.com
David Wither, CEO/Sitkow Yeung, CFO                  01933 670560
Arbuthnot Securities                                 020 7012 2000
Tom Griffiths/Richard Dunn
Smithfield                                           020 7360 4900
Sara Musgrave/Reg Hoare

 Print resolution images are available for the media to view and download from
                               www.vismedia.co.uk

Arbuthnot Securities Limited, which is authorised and regulated by the Financial
Services Authority, is acting for the Company only and will not be responsible
to any other person for providing the protection afforded to customers of
Arbuthnot Securities Limited or for advising such person on the matters referred
to in this announcement.  Arbuthnot Securities Limited has not approved the
contents of, or any part of, this announcement.

Notes to Editors

INTRODUCTION
Sarantel Limited (a wholly owned subsidiary of Sarantel Group PLC) was
incorporated on 30 March 2000 and designs, manufactures and sells patented,
ceramic, filtering antennas for use in portable wireless devices. Sarantel holds
11 core registered patents for its miniature dielectric loaded antennas, which
the Directors believe offer significant performance advantages for users and
manufacturers of such devices based on its groundbreaking technology. The
antennas simplify system design, thus allowing design standardisation and
reduced time to market and cost for manufacturers.

The Directors believe that data services based on GPS, Wi-Fi, 3G and Bluetooth
platforms will be a key element in the future success of mobile network
operators and device manufacturers. In this respect, Sarantel's filtering
antennas are already playing a leading role in enabling the integration of GPS
in mass-market mobile devices and PDAs. In addition, Sarantel's antennas can
significantly increase the range and effective bandwidth of Wi-Fi devices.
Sarantel's antennas are also expected by the Directors to become widely used in
satellite radio. Sarantel is planning to commence high volume delivery of its
antennas into the satellite radio market within the next 12 months.

Sarantel has supplied to more than 50 wireless device manufacturers and/or
suppliers, and is working with top tier OEMs and ODMs in the development and
application of Sarantel's GPS antenna. Sales are accelerating rapidly and, as a
result, Sarantel now plans to significantly expand its manufacturing capacity in
order to meet demand. The Directors believe that the market for Sarantel's
filtering antennas has the potential for rapid and significant growth. Admission
to AIM will provide the funds for the Group to invest in new manufacturing
capacity and to accelerate new product development. Furthermore, Admission is
intended to help to enhance the Company's profile. The Directors intend to
position Sarantel as a major supplier of antenna technology to the wireless
devices market worldwide.
HISTORY AND BACKGROUND
Sarantel was founded in 2000 when Oliver Leisten, the Company's Chief Technology
Officer, led the acquisition of the UK dielectric antenna division of
Symmetricom, Inc., a US company whose shares are quoted on NASDAQ. Funding was
initially provided by 3i Group PLC and Foresight, and since through Foresight's
purchase of 3i Group PLC's investment in 2002, by investors led by Foresight and
MTI Partners. These funds, amounting in aggregate to more than £14.0 million,
have been invested primarily to develop the Group's technology, to equip and
develop the existing manufacturing facility and to increase production volume to
fulfill existing orders.

Sarantel designs and manufactures filtering antennas for use in portable
wireless devices. Its current focus is on producing antennas for the GPS market.
The Directors believe that the signal on conventional antennas, and consequently
their performance, is generally adversely affected by being held close to the
human body. The Group has developed a patented filtering antenna formed around a
core ceramic material that is less affected by the body's presence allowing a
much clearer signal. In addition, the clearer signal can enhance the battery
life of the device in which the antenna is incorporated and, in the case of a
mobile phone, reduce the amount of energy absorbed by the head by approximately
90 per cent.

Sarantel aims to become a high volume supplier of its differentiated and
patented filtering antenna technology. Sarantel is targeting manufacturers of
portable wireless electronic devices that serve high volume consumer markets. As
with its current success in the GPS market, Sarantel intends to focus on
emerging and fast-growing markets, including satellite radio, Wi-Fi and 3G,
where the Directors believe there is the greatest demand for its technology.
Sarantel intends to increase its existing manufacturing capacity in order to
meet demand. The Directors believe that the success in the execution of these
plans should result in Sarantel becoming a leading supplier of antennas to the
next generation of mass market mobile devices. In June 2004, Sarantel was
identified by the European Tech Tour Association as one of the top 25 high
growth privately held technology companies in the UK. Sarantel has now
established itself as a supplier for multiple GPS specific consumer products,
accessories, PDAs and asset tracking devices.

Protection of intellectual property is a critical element of Sarantel's
competitive advantage and the Group has approximately 200 international filings
in respect of 11 core patents. This has contributed to Sarantel being one of the
first companies to exploit dielectrically loaded antenna technology.
MARKETS
GPS market
GPS is a radio navigation system using satellites that orbit the earth and is
widely recognised as the best technology to supply location data for mobile
devices. It is already widely used by the military and automotive markets and is
being adopted in mass market electronic devices such as mobile phones and PDAs.
This market is currently the Group's primary focus.

The market for GPS antennas is forecast to be entering a period of significant
growth, with annual sales of GPS-enabled mobile handsets expected to grow from
21 million in 2003 to 150 million in 2009. Much of this growth will be driven by
legislation, which the Directors believe will lead to GPS becoming standard in
many mobile phones. The E911 legislation in the US requires mobile network
operators to provide the location of anyone calling the 911 emergency number
from a mobile phone. Network operators may use network or handset-based systems
to meet this requirement. The handset-based solution currently requiring GPS has
been adopted by network operators with an aggregate subscriber base in the US of
49 million. Consumer demand is also driving growth, with sales of GPS enabled
navigation aids increasing.

According to ABI research, 20 million GPS-enabled mobile phone handsets were
shipped in 2003. Network operators are looking to invest in GPS for
location-based services, and the current available market is estimated to be 285
million subscribers worldwide. Semiconductor companies have driven down the cost
and power requirements of GPS by making it an integral part of their chipset
solutions. Sales of GPS-enabled mobile phones and PDAs are consequently forecast
to grow from 20 million to approximately 240 million units per annum by 2009.

Historically, GPS-enabled mobile phones have used relatively low performance
antennas that limit the effectiveness of the applications in terms of
navigational accuracy and reliability. The Directors believe that Sarantel's
product delivers a significant improvement in the performance of GPS receivers
in comparison to conventional antennas and in many cases is easier to integrate
with handsets. Trials conducted in association with a major handset OEM on the
Nextel network have demonstrated that Sarantel's GPS antenna provides
significant performance advantages over the conventional antenna solutions.
Sarantel has also conducted tests on multiple GPS-enabled phones marketed in the
US and believes that the majority do not reliably produce accurate location
information due to poor antenna performance.

The Directors believe the better antenna performance will be key to enabling the
growth to GPS applications in hand-held devices. Tests with a leading mobile
phone OEM have demonstrated a significant reduction on its time to first
location fix using Sarantel's antenna.

Satellite radio market
Satellite radio, which is regulated in the US by the FCC, has the distinct
advantage over traditional radio enabling a customer to listen to the same
station across the US without retuning. In 1997, the FCC awarded licences to two
companies, namely CD Radio (now known as Sirius Satellite Radio) and American
Mobile Radio (now called XM Satellite Radio). Each company paid in excess of $80
million to use space in the S-band allocated by the FCC specifically for digital
satellite transmission. Research suggests that XM Satellite Radio and Sirius
Satellite Radio could have more than 42 million subscribers by the end of 2009.

Sarantel has already been commissioned to provide prototype products for the
satellite radio market and on the basis of customer response Sarantel is
planning to commence high volume delivery of its antennas within 12 months. The
Directors believe that the satellite radio market will achieve dramatic growth
in the coming years.

Wi-Fi market
Wi-Fi is widely used in laptops, PDAs and desktop PCs and the Directors believe
it is on the verge of widespread adoption in mobile phones. Wi-Fi is already
being used in 50 million mobile devices and the market for Wi-Fi units is
expected to increase to 375 million units per annum by 2007. The Directors
believe that Wi-Fi networks can become a viable alternative to the traditional
wired computer networks, if Wi-Fi characteristics of range and bandwidth can be
improved. Sarantel's antennas have been shown to significantly enhance both
Wi-Fi range and bandwidth, with immunity to interference when compared with
incumbent technologies, meaning they can be fitted in small devices next to GSM/
CDMA radios and other 'noisy' components. The Directors believe that this will
accelerate the deployment of voice over internet protocol on Wi-Fi enabled
devices.

Independent tests have demonstrated that Sarantel's Wi-Fi antenna significantly
improved the range and signal strength of a Lucent Orinoco Wi-Fi PCMCIA card
when compared to the existing antenna solution.

3G market
Despite the slow implementation of 3G to date, the Directors anticipate that
this market will expand dramatically over the next few years, with the majority
of mobile devices expected to be 3G-enabled by 2009. In the UK much of this
growth will be driven by the requirement for 3G licence holders to be able to
reach no less than 80 per cent. of the UK population by the end of 2007.

Low battery life is considered a major problem for users of 3G-enabled mobile
devices. Sarantel's antennas have greater in-use power efficiency than
conventional antennas and could, therefore, have the potential to offer longer
battery life for 3G phones and/or mobile devices.

Bluetooth market
As uptake of Bluetooth technology continues to grow, opportunities are emerging
to differentiate devices by improving reception. Sarantel's Wi-Fi antenna also
supports Bluetooth applications as the frequency bands are the same.

Market summary
All these market opportunities have the potential to contribute significantly to
the medium to long-term growth of Sarantel.

Technology

Sarantel's filtering antennas comprise one or more helical copper tracks on a
high dielectric ceramic core with an insulating balun at the base and a feed
cable connector. 

Conventional antennas, used in mobile devices, suffer low in-use efficiency and
de-tuning in the presence of the human body. They are also highly susceptible to
interference from nearby components. For the user, the consequences are reduced
battery life, poor reception and excessive emission of heat radiation. The
Directors understand that manufacturers endure a relatively long lead time to
bring a product to market as well as complex sourcing because each new antenna
requires extensive development work and design compromise. Each mobile device
design is unique, so antennas differ across devices, increasing sourcing costs
and risk. As devices get smaller, their problems intensify, whilst adding GPS,
Wi-Fi or Bluetooth to a mobile device compounds these problems still further.

In contrast, Sarantel's technology enhances performance for the user and, as its
core antenna can be used in multiple device designs, it can transform the
antenna into a standardised component. This shortens the device design cycle and
thus time to market.

The Directors believe Sarantel's technology offers five key advantages over
conventional antennas:

1) Small near-field
Conventional antennas have a near-field of energy that is typically around one
metre in diameter. During the use of a mobile phone or PDA, the user's body
comes into contact with the near-field and the antenna's energy drains into the
user, significantly weakening reception. The tuning of the antenna is also
changed. For GPS in a mobile phone or other mobile device, the performance
degradation is usually so significant that location finding may become
unreliable. Sarantel's patented antennas use a ceramic core to shrink the
near-field to only a few millimetres in diameter. This results in less
interference and dramatically improves performance. The Directors believe small
near-field advantage is a critical element to achieving high performance in GPS
and Wi-Fi voice applications.

2) Isolation from interference
Conventional antennas collect noise generated by oscillators and other
electronic components in the same device. For a designer creating a highly
integrated wireless handheld device, this interference is a major problem
because it reduces performance. Sarantel's antenna technology is electronically
isolated from other components and therefore avoids collecting the noise
generated by those components. This isolation rests on two features: the antenna
is a balanced di-pole that does not rely on the PCB to function; and the
integrated balun acts as a trap that rejects electronic interference from other
devices present on the PCB. These features enable the Sarantel antenna to be
co-located with other antennas and integrated in close proximity to DSPs, MP3
players, CMOS cameras and other sensitive or noisy components.

3) Omni-directional
Conventional antennas tend to be sensitive to the design of the mobile device
and its orientation and therefore in certain circumstances only 'see' satellites
if the user holds the mobile device in a relatively narrow range of positions.
Conventional antennas are susceptible to nulls or gaps in the signal pattern
that result in poor performance. As Sarantel's antenna is independent of the
device, it is less sensitive to its orientation, which is a major advantage in
hand-held devices.

4) No ground plane required
Conventional antennas require relatively large ground planes, thereby using
space that is scarce in mobile devices. Sarantel's antenna does not require a
ground plane, and therefore has a much smaller overall space requirement,
reducing the size requirement of the device. This is an increasingly important
attribute in mobile devices as integration levels increase.

5) Filtering response
Conventional antennas have very broad frequency responses to accommodate the
de-tuning caused by biological loading that occurs when the user holds the
product. Sarantel's antennas do not de-tune in this way and are also designed
for sharp filtering responses, thereby reducing interference and will obviate
the need for certain discrete filter components.

Conventional antennas
The conventional antennas tend to be: patch, PIFA, quadrifilar helix or
whip-type antennas, which are described in further detail below:

(a) Patch antennas
Patch antennas typically comprise of two flat metal plates separated by a layer
of ceramic. The plates must be approximately 30 millimetres square in order to
achieve acceptable GPS reception. The size of this type of GPS antenna rules
them out of most mobile device designs. Patch equipped devices must either be
held horizontally in use or have the antenna attached by a hinge, making the
device less user friendly.

(b) PIFA antennas
PIFA antennas are widely used to carry voice signals in mobile phones. Although
the antenna itself is relatively small, it works by using the entire volume of
the device's PCB as an integral part of the receiver. In the user's hand, most
of the antenna's energy is absorbed into the body. As a result, performance may
be reduced to a point where PIFA antennas are not sensitive enough to provide
effective GPS reception. Many current Wi-Fi enabled hand-held devices use PIFA
antennas and as a result, in such devices, performance is reduced in terms of
range and bandwidth.

Laptop designers tend to locate the PIFA antennas at different positions around
the screen for isolation, in order to achieve acceptable levels of performance.
The antennas are then connected to the system using coaxial cables. This adds
cost and complexity to the assembly process and can affect reliability when
used.

(c) Quadrifilar helix antennas
Quadrifilar helix antennas comprise a metal double spiral similar in shape to
Sarantel's plated copper tracks, but without the ceramic core. For effective GPS
reception, such antennas need to be quite large. Conventional quadrifilar helix
antennas are not used in mobile phones, PDAs or similar devices.

(d) Whip-type antennas
Whip-type antennas were widely used for voice communications on earlier mobile
phones and in some designs are also used for GPS reception. When the device is
in the user's hand, the large near-field of a whip antenna results in loss of
efficiency. The Directors do not believe such devices provide acceptable GPS
performance.

Summary Financial Information
Financial information on Sarantel for the three financial years ended 30
September 2004 is set out below.








Turnover for the financial year ended 30 September 2004 rose by approximately
300 percent to £0.84 million from £0.21 million in the financial year ended 30
September 2003 (2002: £0.1 million). The increase in turnover over the three
financial years ended 30 September 2004 reflects the Group's evolution over this
period from a research and development-led company to a selling and
manufacturing company.

CURRENT TRADING AND PROSPECTS
Since 30 September 2004, the date to which the last audited accounts for
Sarantel were prepared, Sarantel has continued to trade in line with the
Directors' expectations. Manufacturing output has been significantly increased
to meet demand from customers.

The Board views the future prospects of the Group with confidence. The Directors
are encouraged by the trading prospects for the Group due to the significantly
increased level of orders received in the financial year to date and its new
sales opportunities.

The Board is confident that following Admission, the Group will be better
positioned to take advantage of the growing opportunities in its target markets.
Furthermore, Admission of the Ordinary Shares to AIM should lead to increased
awareness of the Group and its activities which the Directors believe will
create further opportunities.

DIRECTORS
The Board comprises three executive Directors and two non-executive Directors
all of whom were appointed to the Board on February 2005.

David Dey, Non-executive Chairman, aged 67. David was appointed to the board of
Sarantel in June 2003 and has over 30 years' experience in telecoms and
technology companies, having worked at senior levels in companies such as
British Telecom, Energis, IBM and Plessey.

David Wither, Chief Executive Officer, aged 40. David was appointed to the board
of Sarantel in January 2004 and has assumed primary responsibility for
accelerating the Company's sales into high volume mobile device manufacturers.
From 1998 to 2003 he was a director at RF Micro Devices Inc. with responsibility
for European sales and the Bluetooth product line.

Sitkow Yeung, Chief Financial Officer, aged 47. Sitkow, who is a chartered
accountant, and has over 20 years' experience of working in high growth
technology companies, joined Sarantel in May 2004, and was subsequently
appointed to the board of Sarantel in January 2005. Sitkow was a divisional
finance director of Ericsson Telecommunications Limited until 1997 when he
became the Controller, Western Europe, for Ericsson's mobile systems business.

Dr. Oliver Leisten, Chief Technology Officer, aged 44. Oliver founded the Group
in September 2000 and has 25 years' experience in the radio communications
industry. He is responsible for the development of 11 patents for miniature
dielectric loaded antennas, which form the core of Sarantel's intellectual
property assets. Previously, Oliver was chief technologist at Symmetricom
Limited, responsible for leading a team of specialist radio systems and design
engineers. He trained with Philips Research Laboratories and has held a number
of engineering appointments with Plessey Avionics and Communications and GEC.

David Ward, Non-executive Director, aged 37. David, who joined the board of
Sarantel in February 2003, is a partner at MTI Partners, the private equity
firm, which has provided significant funding for Sarantel, where he has worked
since 1999. Previously he was a director of Calder Aluminium Limited, EMP
Technologies Limited, iBase Image Systems Limited and Phocis Limited.

                                    - Ends -




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