Investor Appetite Prompts New Share Issue in Flagship Environmental Investment Trust

Friday, January 20, 2006

Impax Environmental Markets plc (IEM), the London-listed investment trust, has issued 3,995,000 ordinary shares in the Company for cash at a price of 98.0 pence per share, increasing its total net assets to nearly £110 million. The share issue comes only two months after IEM made £60 million by a placing and offer for subscription.

Ian Simm, Chief Executive, Impax Group plc, commented: "The shares have been issued in in response to strong demand from investors for exposure to environmental markets. Investors who put money into Impax Environmental Markets plc in November last year have already seen a 10% return and the prospects for the environmental markets sector are even stronger in 2006."

Bruce Jenkyn Jones, director of Impax Asset Management, the trust's investment manager, said: "Mainstream investors are recognising the stable long-term returns that environmental markets can provide."

IEM is managed by Impax Asset Management, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Impax Group plc, the AIM-quoted environmental investment management company.

Impax Environmental Markets plc invests in small and mid cap growth stocks active in environmental markets throughout the world. Over the past 3 years, it has outperformed leading stock market indices such as the FTSE All Share Index and the MSCI World Index. IEM is managed by Impax Asset Management, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Impax Group, the-AIM listed specialist environmental investor.

Over the past twelve months, Impax Group has tripled its funds under management to £230 million, making it one Europe's biggest and most experienced investors in renewables and other environmental technologies. Impax now manages money for many of the UK's leading institutional investors including including British Airways Pension Fund, Cooperative Insurance Society, Universities Superannuation Scheme, and South Yorkshire Pensions Authority. The Group's share price has tripled since August 2005.

"Our share price performance reflects market confidence in our ability to win returns for our investors from our various funds. With rising concern over climate change, energy prices, security of energy supply, the lack of clean water and wastage of resources, companies active in environmental markets are rapidly increasing shareholder value," said Ian Simm.

Dresdner Kleinwort Wasserstein are principal brokers and market makers for IEM.

Enquiries

Impax Group:
Ian Simm	020 7432 2619
Bruce Jenkyn-Jones	020 7432 2618
Carbon International
Tom Whitehouse	020 7722 9355
	07989 333 542