Award of significant R&D funding

28 September 2012

Escher Group Holdings plc ("Escher" or the "Group")

Award of significant R&D funding for RiposteTrEx™

Escher Group Holdings plc ("Escher" or the "Group"), a world-leading provider of outsourced, point-of-service software to the postal industry, is pleased to announce that it has been awarded significant R&D funding for RiposteTrEx™

Enterprise Ireland, the national economic development agency, has awarded a three-year funding package to Escher Group of approximately €450,000 for the continued development of its RiposteTrEx™ product.

This has been allocated under Enterprise Ireland's Research & Development Fund, which is funded by the Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation. Escher has earmarked the funding to develop further and enhance its ground-breaking platform, RiposteTrEx™, over the next three years.

RiposteTrEx™ is a connected and inclusive platform for formal communication where communities can communicate and transact while allowing participants to control their engagement and privacy levels.

Seán Sherlock T.D., Minister for Research & Innovation commented: 'Driving increased research and innovation in Irish companies is an absolute priority for this Government. The Action Plan for Jobs 2012 puts innovation and technology at the heart of enterprise and jobs policies. This is what helps turn good ideas into valuable products and services that in turn help create new jobs. Escher is a highly innovative company and their commitment to R&D is impressive'.

Liam Church, CEO of Escher Group said: 'We are delighted to have secured this funding. It is further evidence of the strength of our R&D programme that Enterprise Ireland supports Escher as we create the technology base for the evolving field of public, peer-based communication and transaction services.'

Jennifer Condon, Head of Software at Enterprise Ireland, added: 'Continuous investment in innovation and R&D is vital for all technology based companies. This R&D investment by Escher supports the further development of their RiposteTrEx™ product and will enable Escher to consolidate their position as a world leader in the provision of software solutions in the global Postal Services market'.

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Notes to Editors

Escher is a world leading developer and provider of outsourced, point of service software for use in the postal industry worldwide. Its core software, RiposteEssential, enables post offices to expand upon their traditional offering, providing additional new services, reducing costs and increasing efficiency. Riposte is a messaging middleware that enables applications operating on different computers to communicate with each other. The Riposte software manages data, monitors the system status and communicates across the network. Escher operates across two divisions - its Retail Software Division and its Message Based Communications Division.

The Retail Software Solution (RiposteEssential) serves the postal and courier markets. Transactions include mail and financial services and the system is integrated with utilities and financial services companies, banks and central and local governments.

Escher's Message Based Communications Division (RiposteTrEx) is based on a digital post office box model and is designed to provide a national digital infrastructure linking governments, businesses and citizens via a secure platform.