FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
19 February 2008

Contact
Tom McHale, Director, European Capital Financial Services Limited +1 (301) 951-6122
Juan Carlos Morales Cortes, Finance Director, European Capital Financial Services +44 (0)207 539 7000
John Hooker, Vice President, Debt Capital Markets, American Capital +1 (301) 951-6122
Justin Cressall, Equity Capital Markets, European Capital Financial Services Limited: +1 (301) 951-6122

EUROPEAN CAPITAL INCREASES CAPITAL RESOURCES TO €2.8 BILLION; OBTAINS €270 MILLION UNSECURED CREDIT FACILITY

St. Peter Port, Guernsey – 19 February 2008 – European Capital Limited (“European Capital”) (LSE: ECAS) announced today that European Capital S.A. SICAR, a wholly-owned subsidiary of European Capital, has obtained a three year unsecured subordinated revolving credit facility with an aggregate commitment of $400 million (€270 million) from European Capital’s affiliate American Capital Strategies, Ltd. (Nasdaq: ACAS).  American Capital is the lender under the facility. The addition of the $400 million (€270 million) unsecured credit facility increases European Capital’s capital resources to €2.8 billion.

European Capital has the following committed debt facilities:

* US Dollar facilities converted to Euros at 31 January 2008 exchange rate.

The average interest spread of the committed debt facilities, when they are fully utilized, will be 2.2% over the relative index. 

“American Capital is pleased to continue to invest in European Capital,” said John Erickson, Chief Financial Officer, American Capital and Director, European Capital Financial Services (Guernsey) Limited.  “We know the quality of European Capital’s assets and the outstanding opportunities they have to invest this additional capital at potentially very attractive returns.  Access to capital is a tremendous advantage for a financial institution in this environment.  With the additional resources of the AAA rated securitization that European Capital announced yesterday and the unsecured credit facility that American Capital is providing, European Capital is well positioned to take advantage of opportunities created by the credit crunch.”

“The unsecured credit facility provides us with cost effective capital that many financial institutions cannot access in today’s market environment,” said Juan Carlos Morales, Director of Finance, European Capital Financial Services Limited.  “The unsecured facility and the AAA term securitization provide the capital we need to fund our 2008 business plan.  That is a great position to be in today when many financial institutions are lacking capital.”

European Capital has invested approximately €2.9 billion in 79 companies since its formation in August of 2005 and approximately €1.6 billion in 49 companies in 2007.  For more information about European Capital's portfolio, click here.

ABOUT EUROPEAN CAPITAL

European Capital is a publicly traded investment company for pan-European equity, mezzanine and senior debt investments with capital resources of approximately €2.8 billion ($4.1 billion).  It is managed by European Capital Financial Services (Guernsey) Limited (“ECFSG” or “the Investment Manager”), a wholly-owned affiliate of American Capital Strategies, Ltd (“American Capital”).

European Capital invests in and sponsors management and employee buyouts, invests in private equity buyouts and provides capital directly to private and public companies headquartered predominantly in Europe. European Capital generally invests between €5 million and €500 million per transaction in equity, mezzanine debt and senior debt to fund growth, acquisitions and recapitalisations.

The investment objective of European Capital is to provide investors with dividend income and the potential for share value appreciation by investing in debt and equity investments in private and public companies headquartered primarily in Europe. European Capital seeks to achieve this through pursuing the following types of investments:

European Capital One Stop Buyouts™
Through our One Stop Buyouts™, European Capital provides equity, mezzanine debt and senior debt as the lead investor in the buyout of private and public companies.

Mezzanine Direct with Sponsors
European Capital provides debt and equity financing for buyouts sponsored by private equity firms where European Capital is either the sole or lead mezzanine debt investor.

Syndicated Mezzanine and Senior Debt
European Capital provides mezzanine and senior financing for buyouts sponsored by private equity firms where European Capital is neither the sole nor lead mezzanine or senior debt investor.

Direct Investments
European Capital provides debt and equity financing directly to private and public companies, which is used for growth, acquisitions or recapitalisations, and investing in structured finance vehicles.

Companies interested in learning more about European Capital's flexible financing should contact Simon Henderson or Nathalie Faure Beaulieu at + 44 (0)20 7539 7000 in London, Jean Eichenlaub at + 33 (0)1 40 68 06 66 in Paris, Robert von Finckenstein at +49 (0) 69 71 71 297-0 in Frankfurt, or Luis Felipe Castellanos at +(34) 91 423 27 60 in Madrid, or visit the website at www.EuropeanCapital.com.

ABOUT AMERICAN CAPITAL

American Capital Strategies Ltd. (Nasdaq: ACAS), with $19 billion in capital resources under management, is an affiliate of European Capital and a member of the S&P 500. It is the largest U.S. publicly traded private equity firm and one of the largest publicly traded alternative asset managers. American Capital, both directly and through its global asset management business, is an investor in management and employee buyouts, private equity buyouts, and early stage and mature private and public companies. American Capital provides senior debt, mezzanine debt and equity to fund growth, acquisitions, recapitalisations and securitisations. American Capital and its affiliates invest from $5 million to $800 million per company in North America and €5 million to €500 million per company in Europe.

This press release contains forward-looking statements. The statements regarding expected results of European Capital and/or American Capital are subject to various factors and uncertainties, including the uncertainties associated with the timing of transaction closings, changes in interest rates, availability of transactions, changes in regional, national or international economic conditions, or changes in the conditions of the industries in which European Capital and/or American Capital has made investments.