FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
1 May 2008

Contact
Ira Wagner, President, European Capital Financial Services +44 20 7539 7000
Jean Eichenlaub, Regional Managing Director Southern Europe, European Capital Financial Services +33 1 40 68 68 66
Nathalie Faure-Beaulieu, Regional Managing Director Northern Europe, European Capital Financial Services +44 20 7539 7000
Shona Prendergast, Penrose Public Relations +44 20 7786 4888

EUROPEAN CAPITAL INVESTS €142 MILLION
AND SUPPORTS GROWTH IN BUYOUT INVESTMENTS IN Q1 2008

St. Peter Port, Guernsey – 1 May 2008 – European Capital Limited (LSE: ECAS) ("European Capital"), announced that in the first quarter of 2008 it supported the growth of its portfolio companies through four add-on acquisitions:

Wakame: Add-on to Marco Polo Foods, European manufacturer of fresh and frozen sushi, completed in January. European Capital invested €29 million in the One Stop Buyout™ of Marco Polo in November 2005. In June 2006, European Capital syndicated an €11 million senior term loan and €1.2 million in equity.

Velay Bernard: Add-on to Soflog-Télis, provider of logistics services to industrial customers, completed in February. European Capital invested €29 million in the buyout of Soflog-Télis in September 2007.

Net-linx publishing solutions and Datamatix: Add-ons to Miles 33, leading UK provider of editorial and advertising software to newspaper customers worldwide, completed in March. European Capital invested €83 million in the buyout of Miles 33 in June 2007.

"Our buyouts team continues to actively pursue the most attractive investment opportunities across Europe, displaying our commitment to support leading middle market companies," said Ira Wagner, President of European Capital Financial Services. "With approximately €3 billion invested in more than 80 middle market companies, our team has been very active over the last three years in order to provide global and flexible financing solutions for our own One-Stop Buyouts™ and to our investment partners all over Europe."

In the first quarter of 2008, European Capital invested a total of €142 million in five companies, compared to €267 million invested in ten companies in the first quarter of 2007. European Capital raised over €520 million in capital in the first quarter of 2008, compared to €47 million raised in the first quarter of 2007 and €518 million in all of 2007. In addition, European Capital realized €115 million from investments in the first quarter of 2008, compared to €163 million in the first quarter of 2007 and €707 million in all of 2007; a portion of these funds are available for reinvestment.

European Capital also invested €142 million in five companies in the first quarter of 2008:

Bestinvest: Independent financial advisor; investment of €18 million in senior subordinated debt, shareholder loans and common equity in January.

Inspicio plc: Testing, inspection and certification services in the Commodities, Environmental and Food Safety markets; investment of €47 million senior subordinated debt in February.

Tiama: In-line inspection devices for product quality control; investment of €14 million million mezzanine debt completed in February.

Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients (API): Division of Alpharma Inc. (NYSE: ALO); investment of €35 million senior subordinated debt in March.

International Electronics and Engineering S.A. (IEE): In-line inspection devices for product quality control; investment of €28 million mezzanine debt in March.

In total, European Capital has invested over €1.5 billion in 2007 and over €1.5 billion in the last twelve months.

European Capital Financial Services' Frankfurt office, which opened in April 2007, actively covers markets in the German speaking countries and is currently reviewing numerous opportunities. European Capital Financial Services' Madrid office, which opened in July 2007, actively covers markets in Southern Europe and is currently reviewing numerous opportunities.

"The first quarter of 2008 continued to present attractive investment opportunities for European Capital," said Jean Eichenlaub, Regional Managing Director of European Capital Financial Services. "We have strongly increased our market coverage and have been particularly active in the mezzanine market."

"European Capital's growing reputation, our international presence and ability to provide one-stop financing of mezzanine debt and equity in support of private equity buyouts gives us a competitive advantage relative to other financing sources," said Nathalie Faure-Beaulieu, Regional Managing Director of European Capital Financial Services.

For more information about European Capital's portfolio, go to www.EuropeanCapital.com/our_portfolio/portfolio.html.

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 ($4.4 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 recapitalizations.

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 one stop financing of subordinated debt and equity 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 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 subordinated 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 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 is the only private equity fund and the largest alternative asset management company that is a member of the S&P 500. With $19 billion in capital resources under management, American Capital is the largest U.S. publicly traded alternative asset manager. 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, recapitalizations and securitizations. 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.

As of March 31, 2008, American Capital shareholders have enjoyed a total return of 490% since the Company's IPO—an annualized return of 18%, assuming reinvestment of dividends. American Capital has paid a total of $2.3 billion in dividends and paid $27.17 dividends per share since going public in August 1997 at $15 per share.

Companies interested in learning more about American Capital's flexible financing should contact Mark Opel, Senior Vice President, Business Development, at (800) 248-9340, or visit www.AmericanCapital.com or www.EuropeanCapital.com.

Performance data quoted above represents past performance of American Capital. Past performance does not guarantee future results and the investment return and principal value of an investment in American Capital will likely fluctuate. Consequently, an investor's shares, when sold, may be worth more or less than their original cost. Additionally, American Capital's current performance may be lower or higher than the performance data quoted above.

This press release contains forward-looking statements. The statements regarding expected results of 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 American Capital has made investments.