Polar Capital Regulatory News (POLR)

26 July 2011

Polar Capital Holdings plc ("Polar Capital" or the "Company")

Director's Dealings - Award of Share Options as Equity Settled Share Appreciation Rights ("ESARs")

Polar Capital announces that, on 26 July 2011, Mr. Mansell, the Chief Operating Officer and Finance Director of the Company, was granted a share option over a total of 350,000 ordinary shares of 2.5p each in the Company at an exercise price of 197.5p per share.

The Option is not subject to any performance conditions and will become exercisable on the fourth anniversary of the date of grant, being 26 July 2015. In order to be able to exercise the Option, the Option holder must be a partner or employed within the Polar Capital Group on the relevant vesting date, subject to certain defined "good leaver" situations.

The Option will lapse unless exercised within 10 years from the date of grant.

The Option will be satisfied in accordance with the rules of the Polar Capital Equity Incentive Plan, by the use of the provisions relating to Equity Settled Share Appreciation Rights ("ESARs"). The use of the ESARs provisions allows the Company to issue to the option holder only the number of shares that would equate to the number of shares over which the option becomes exercisable less the number of shares that would need to be sold to fund the purchase of that number of shares on that exercise date.

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