Benson Elliot named European
Emerging Firm of the Year

Accolade highlights over-subscribed fund launch,
team strength and investment success

2 March 2007 — Benson Elliot Capital Management (“Benson Elliot” or the “Firm”) announced today its recognition by Private Equity Real Estate, flagship magazine of the private equity real estate industry, as “European Emerging Firm of the Year” in the 2006 Global PERE Awards. Voted on by industry practitioners from around the world, the Global PERE Awards are the only awards for the industry as voted directly by the industry.

Commenting on the PERE award, Marc Mogull, Managing Partner of Benson Elliot, said: “Benson Elliot has stormed out of the starting gates, in large part because of the incredible support we received from our cornerstone investors and the strength of team the firm has been able to assemble. We have also had great support from the real estate community in Europe: the partners, advisers, vendors and financiers with whom we work day-to-day. In a frenetic deal-making environment, the PERE awards are a nice opportunity to pause and take some satisfaction in the industry’s recognition of a job well done.”

Benson Elliot launched fundraising for its initial fund, Benson Elliot Real Partners II (the “Fund”) in April last year, achieving an initial close on almost 90% of its target capital the following month. The Fund had an oversubscribed final close, with investor commitments of over €335 million, in August 2006. Since then, Benson Elliot has invested approximately 25% of the Fund, in deals valued at almost €500 million, in France, Germany and Scandinavia.

In citing Benson Elliot, PERE highlighted the firm’s deal-making activities and recruitment successes, noting that “Benson Elliot’s ability to attract talent was a talking point among recruiters last year”. The firm has built on this initial team formation success, and today numbers fifteen people working from offices in Knightsbridge. In concluding its commentary on Benson Elliot, PERE anticipated that “there will be much to talk about in the years to come”.

The entire PERE awards have been published in the March issue of Private Equity Real Estate magazine, as well as on the magazine’s website, www.privateequityrealestate.com.