European Capital Declares Q1 Dividend of Euro 0.15 Per Ordinary Share

St. Peter Port, Guernsey (ots/PRNewswire) -

European Capital Limited ("European Capital") (LSE: ECAS)
announced today that its Board of Directors has declared a first
quarter 2008 dividend of euro 0.15 per ordinary share payable on 25
April 2008 to record holders of its ordinary shares on the register
as of 16:30 GMT on 28 March 2008. This is a 7% increase over the
fourth quarter 2007 dividend of euro 0.14 per share and equals the
dividend forecast announced last month in European Capital's fourth
quarter 2007 earnings press release. European Capital has paid or
declared a total of euro 56 million in dividends since its May 2007
initial public offering ("IPO"). The fourth quarter 2007 dividend of
euro 0.14 per ordinary share equalled a 52% dividend payout ratio of
the fourth quarter 2007 earnings less appreciation and depreciation
("Realised Earnings").

2008 DIVIDEND GUIDANCE REITERATED

European Capital reiterates its forecast of total 2008 dividends
of euro 0.62 per share, a 68% growth over post-IPO 2007 dividends of
euro 0.37 per share in 2007. The 2008 dividends per share are
forecast to be in the following quarterly amounts:

euro 0.15 for Q2 2008, 50% increase over Q2 2007;
euro 0.16 for Q3 2008, 23% increase over Q3 2007; and
euro 0.16 for Q4 2008, 14% increase over Q4 2007.

For more information, please visit our website at
http://www.EuropeanCapital.com or call our Investor Relations
Department at +44-(0)20-7539-7100.

ABOUT EUROPEAN CAPITAL

European Capital is a publicly traded investment company for
pan-European equity, mezzanine and senior debt investments with
capital resources of approximately euro 2.8 billion (US$4.4 billion).
It is managed by European Capital Financial Services (Guernsey)
Limited ("ECFSG" or "the Investment Manager"), a wholly-owned
affiliate of American Capital Strategies, Ltd ("American Capital").

European Capital invests in and sponsors management and employee
buyouts, invests in private equity buyouts and provides capital
directly to private and public companies headquartered predominantly
in Europe. European Capital generally invests between euro 5 million
and euro 500 million per transaction in equity, mezzanine debt and
senior debt to fund growth, acquisitions and recapitalisations.

The investment objective of European Capital is to provide
investors with dividend income and the potential for share value
appreciation by investing in debt and equity investments in private
and public companies headquartered primarily in Europe. European
Capital seeks to achieve this through pursuing the following types of
investments:

European Capital One Stop Buyouts(TM)

Through our One Stop Buyouts(TM), European Capital provides
equity, mezzanine debt and senior debt as the lead investor in the
buyout of private and public companies.

Mezzanine Direct with Sponsors

European Capital provides debt and equity financing for buyouts
sponsored by private equity firms where European Capital is either
the sole or lead mezzanine debt investor.

Syndicated Mezzanine and Senior Debt

European Capital provides mezzanine and senior financing for
buyouts sponsored by private equity firms where European Capital is
neither the sole nor lead mezzanine or senior debt investor.

Direct Investments

European Capital provides debt and equity financing directly to
private and public companies, which is used for growth, acquisitions
or recapitalisations, and investing in structured finance vehicles.

Companies interested in learning more about European Capital's
flexible financing should contact Simon Henderson or Nathalie Faure
Beaulieu at +44-(0)20-7539-7000 in London, Jean Eichenlaub at
+33-(0)1-40-68-06-66 in Paris, Robert von Finckenstein at
+49-(0)-69-71-71-297-0 in Frankfurt, or Luis Felipe Castellanos at
+34-91-745-99-63 in Madrid, or visit the website at
http://www.EuropeanCapital.com.

ABOUT AMERICAN CAPITAL

American Capital Strategies Ltd. (Nasdaq: ACAS), with US$19
billion in capital resources under management, is an affiliate of
European Capital and a member of the S&P 500. It is the largest U.S.
publicly traded private equity firm and one of the largest publicly
traded alternative asset managers. American Capital, both directly
and through its global asset management business, is an investor in
management and employee buyouts, private equity buyouts, and early
stage and mature private and public companies. American Capital
provides senior debt, mezzanine debt and equity to fund growth,
acquisitions, recapitalisations and securitisations. American Capital
and its affiliates invest from US$5 million to US$800 million per
company in North America and euro 5 million to euro 500 million per
company in Europe.

This announcement contains forward-looking statements. Statements
regarding expected results of European Capital are subject to various
factors and uncertainties, including the uncertainties associated
with the timing of transaction closings, changes in interest rates,
availability of transactions, changes in regional, national or
international economic conditions, or changes in the conditions of
the industries in which European Capital has made investments.

Web site: http://www.EuropeanCapital.com

ots Originaltext: European Capital
Im Internet recherchierbar: http://www.presseportal.de

Contact:
John Erickson, Director (Guernsey), or Tom McHale, Director, both of
European Capital Financial Services Limited, +1-301-951-6122