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For immediate release:  10 November 2009

SYNDICATE ASSET MANAGEMENT (AIM: SAM) APPOINTS MARK CHESHIRE AS CEO FOR ITS ASHCOURT ROWAN WEALTH MANAGEMENT BUSINESSES

Syndicate Asset Management Plc (AIM: SAM), the fund management group with approximately £6.2 billion under management, is pleased to announce the appointment of Mark Cheshire (51) as Chief Executive Officer of its newly formed Ashcourt Rowan wealth management businesses: Ashcourt Rowan Asset Management and Ashcourt Rowan Financial Planning, due to formally launch in January 2010.

Ashcourt Rowan is the result of the Syndicate Asset Management's recently announced decision to merge three of its existing wholly owned businesses - Ashcourt Asset Management Limited, Ashcourt Financial Planning Limited and Rowan and Company Capital Management plc - into a single, unified wealth management business advising 20,000 clients across the UK. With 16 offices across Britain - including offices in Edinburgh, Manchester, Birmingham, London and Bath - Ashcourt Rowan manages in excess of £2 billion of funds for its clients.

Mark Cheshire joins Ashcourt Rowan at a time when Syndicate Asset Management has recently completed a significant balance sheet strengthening exercise raising £17.2 million of new funds. This followed an earlier fund raising exercise in the year where an additional £5.1 million of debt and deferred liabilities were removed from the Group's balance sheet.

    

Mark Cheshire was previously Director of UK Private Wealth Management at Lloyds TSB Group (December 2007-May 2009) and Chief Executive Officer/Managing Director at Lloyds TSB Private Banking August 2003-November 2007. Mark originally joined Lloyds in 1980.

Jonathan Freeman, Syndicate Asset Management Group CEO, commented:

"We are delighted to welcome Mark to our business. He brings an operational expertise for managing and developing a national wealth management business that is able to grow funds under management based on the principle of delivering exceptional service."

Mark Cheshire added:

"Despite the financial uncertainties of the last year, Syndicate has been able to grow its funds under management during this highly turbulent period. This bears testimony to the excellent relationships its advisers have with its clients. However, as a business it remains relatively unknown. I look forward to the opportunity of being able to establish Syndicate's Ashcourt Rowan brand as a well-recognised player in the UK's rapidly evolving wealth management market." 

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For further information, please contact:

GTH Communications 

Toby Hall/Christian Pickel                                    Tel: 020 7153 8039

Syndicate Asset Management plc      

Jonathan Freeman (Group CEO)                        Tel: 020 7659 8060

Ashcourt Rowan 

Mark Cheshire                 020 7653 3580

Tim Cockerill (Rowan)             01225 475366

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