Queens Award 2008

PRESS RELEASE

PolicyPlus receives the Queen's Award for Enterprise for a second time

Queen's Award logoPolicyPlus International plc, investment adviser and distributor of the Endowment Growth Fund, has been awarded a prestigious Queen's Award for Enterprise in the International Trade category, for the second time. 

PolicyPlus International plc is a market maker for traditional with-profit policies which are bought from UK based consumers then sold to investors, primarily overseas.  It has been trading second hand endowment policies (TEPs) since 1989 when it was founded, with the aim of matching buyers of policies with sellers, who, without such a market, would be forced to surrender their policies and receive a lower return.

PolicyPlus International plc won its first award in 2002.  "Winning the award once was a great achievement and honour, but winning it twice is fantastic as it is recognition of our continued success and the dedication of all of our employees." says Jo Bridger, Head of Marketing at PolicyPlus.

She adds,   "Export is key to our business and by increasing our overseas sales, we are able to secure more cash for UK policyholders, provide continuity of premium income for Life Offices and provide a strong performing asset for investors."

PolicyPlus' export earnings have almost quadrupled over the past three years, thanks to a dedicated and innovative marketing strategy.  In 2006/07 the majority of PolicyPlus' overseas sales (89%) went to Germany, Austria, Ireland, Switzerland and Lichtenstein.

The Queen's Awards for Enterprise are the UK's most prestigious Awards for business performance, recognising and rewarding outstanding achievement by UK companies.  The Awards are made each year by The Queen, on the advice of the Prime Minister, who is assisted by an Advisory Committee that includes representatives of Government, industry and commerce, and the trade unions.

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For further information, please contact:

Jo Bridger, Head of Marketing, PolicyPlus International plc, 01225 473117 /  07941 158491

David Carrington, Chief Executive, PolicyPlus International plc, 01225 473113 / 07710 781140

Anna Bowes, PR Consultant, 07887 481149

Notes to Editors

1. PolicyPlus has been buying and selling endowments since 1989 and is authorised and regulated by the Financial Services Authority.

2. PolicyPlus owns and runs FreeTrawl.com the online trading platform for IFAs.

3. As the longest established market maker, it is a world leader in the traded endowment market, a founder member of the Association of Policy Market Makers and the first market maker to receive a Queen's Award for Excellence (International Trade).

4. PolicyPlus is also member of the German trade association, Bundesverband Vermögensanlagen im Zweitmarkt Lebensversicherungen (www.bvzl.de)

5. Endowment statistics, previous press releases and photos can be found at http://www.policyplus.com/press/press.html

6. The PolicyPlus website has further information on PolicyPlus and the TEP market and can be found at http://www.policyplus.com/

The Endowment Growth Fund (EGF) is the first sub-fund of InvestmentPlus plc, which is regulated by the Irish Financial Services Regulatory Authority. Registered in Ireland No. 289965. Registered office 39/40 Upper Mount Street, Dublin 2, Ireland. EGF is distributed by PolicyPlus International plc which is authorised and regulated by the Financial Services Authority and is a member of the Association of Policy Market Makers. Registered in England No. 2392989. Registered office King’s Court, Bath, BA1 1ER, England.