Escher Group Holdings Regulatory News (ESCH)

29 June 2012

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

Directorate Change

Escher, a world-leading provider of outsourced, point-of-service software to the postal industry, is pleased to announce today the appointment of Jonathan Anthony O'Connell as Group Finance Director and a member of the Board. 

Jonathan O'Connell, 46, has considerable quoted company experience. Most recently, Jonathan was Chief Executive Officer of Merrion Pharmaceuticals plc, an international pharmaceutical development company and, preceding his appointment in May 2011, had served as the Company's Chief Financial Officer since November 2005. Prior to joining Merrion, Jonathan served as CFO and Director of Spectel plc, the market-leading provider of integrated audio and web conferencing software, until its acquisition by Avaya Inc. Jonathan is a member of the Chartered Institute of Chartered Accountants in Ireland.

Jonathan replaces Trevor McIntyre who had informed the Board of his intention to relocate to New Zealand for personal reasons. As such, following a handover period that is expected to complete by the end of August 2012, Trevor will step down from the Board and leave Escher.

Current trading remains in line with management expectations.

Commenting on the appointment, Chief Executive Liam Church said:

"We are very pleased that Jonathan will be joining Escher and I look forward to working with him. He will be a great asset to the Group and we look forward to reaping the benefits of his extensive experience.

"On behalf of the Board, I would like to thank Trevor for his invaluable contribution to the Group. He has been an integral part of the team and a major force behind key developments in the Group over the last few years. We wish him all the best in his future career in New Zealand."

Jonathan O'Connell's directorships during the last five years are as follows:

Save for the information disclosed above there is no other information to be disclosed under Rule 17 or Schedule Two, paragraph (g) of the AIM Rules for Companies.

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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.