Hemmington Scott Throws Down Challenge to Free Internet

Providers LONDON (PROTEXT) - -- Award-winning content owner shifts goalposts by making 000's pounds sterling worth of data free to all on the Internet. -- Hemmington Scott demerges Internet and database activities as it prepares to raise additional capital for new venture. Hemmington Scott, which already operates one of the top sites on the web for company, investment and financial information, is raising the stakes in the UK's explosive Internet sector. Today it announces that it is to be the first major content owner to become an Internet Service Provider (ISP). Hemmington Scott is working in association with UUNET, an MCI WorldCom company, to offer free Internet access and create a business portal, unrivalled in content, branded hemscott.net Business. Hemmington Scott also announces that it proposes to demerge its Internet and database activities from its publishing operations. A number of opportunities are currently being considered for the demerged entity to access the capital markets to fund expansion. Hemscott's ISP customers will have immediate access to thousands of pounds worth of free information, and even more will be coming on stream over the next few weeks. Previously, much of this information was available only by subscription. It includes detailed broker forecasts, financial data on all 2300 UK listed and AIM companies, up-to-date director information, directors' dealings, adviser/client relationships as well as share prices. hemscott.net Business will also provide news as it happens, fully cross-linked to all its other information streams. The 120,000 pages of information currently available on hemscott.com, which attract over 10 million page impressions of traffic per month, will continue to be accessible to all internet users free of charge. From today, the new level of enhanced value-added information will also be available free of charge -- but exclusively to Hemscott's ISP customers. Users of other ISP services can access this valuable information for a limited free trial period until 30 September 1999. Thereafter, they will qualify for a reduced subscription rate of 5 pounds a month for unlimited access, instead of the normal rate of 10 pounds. According to Peter Scott, Chairman of Hemmington Scott: "We are ready to meet the challenges of the new information age. We were the first to put up company information on the Internet in 1995, and are continuing to play to our strengths by becoming the first major content owner to become an ISP. "By giving away literally thousands of pounds worth of information absolutely free, and providing free Internet access, we are showing our commitment to delivering real value to our ISP customers, both at home and in the office. We aim to become the UK business user's first point of reference for information on the web." Richard Kellett-Clarke, Managing Director of AFX News, commented: "AFX is delighted to be involved in this exciting new venture. We are particularly impressed by the way in which Hemmington Scott has integrated our financial and business Internet news product with its own extensive database. The combination looks set to become a highly successful service" Joe Clift, UK Marketing Director at UUNET, commented: "We are major providers of ISP services and only last week announced the Manchester United product. We are pleased to be working with another key player in its sector. With the range of added value content that hemscott.net Business offers, customers will have access to a new category of service that, as yet, has been unavailable. This partnership fits particularly well with UUNET's business focus as the leading provider of Internet services to corporate Britain." As part of hemscott.net, customers will also receive fast dial up speeds (up to 56 kbps and ISDN) and reliable connectivity to up to 5 mailboxes, 20 MB of free web space, local call charges anywhere in the UK and E-web allowing them to pick up e-mail anywhere around the world. The UUNET infrastructure is the most extensive and widely deployed Internet service, rating consistently amongst the very best for speed, performance and reliability. It has consistently outperformed the industry average performance levels, receiving Inverse's* coveted "A+" rating on web throughput for each month to date in 1999. The hemscott.net Business ISP access software can be downloaded from the home page, www.hemscott.net, or from a free installation CD available direct from Hemmington Scott, tel: 800- 320-548. *Inverse Benchmarking Methodologies Hemmington Scott Established in 1985, Hemmington Scott publishes guides and directories of information on UK stockmarket-quoted companies. The company is now the leading supplier of UK equity fundamentals, both in printed form and on the Internet. Hemmington Scott is recognised as providing the highest quality data to fund managers, City investment professionals and private investors, as well as corporate financiers, corporate treasurers, bankers and the quoted companies themselves. AFX AFX News is a joint-venture of Agence France-Presse and the Financial Times Group. Formed in 1990 and incorporating the 1872- founded Extel News, AFX originates professional business and financial news services. On a daily basis, AFX streams 4000 corporate, financial and market news stories in 6 languages to clients world-wide through its global communications network (http://www.afxnews.com or email: richard.kellet-clarke@afxnews.com). UUNET UUNET (http://www.uk.uu.net) is an MCI WorldCom company and a global leader in Internet communications, offering a comprehensive range of services to businesses, online service providers and telecommunications firms. The network covers over 1100 points of presence world-wide and offers connectivity in 114 countries to more than 70,000 businesses. UUNET provides the dial Infrastructure for PIPEX, Gateway, Wilington, Manchester United, The Microsoft Network, AOL, and Compuserve. Leased line customers include companies such as Barclaycard, BBC, CNN, Legal & General, Abbey National, Royal Mail, The Telegraph, Thomas Cook and Trailfinders and Government services such as HM Treasury, Royal Navy. ots Original Text Service: Hemmington Scott Internet: http://www.newsaktuell.de Contact: Peter Scott, John Suckling or Jane Andrew, all of Hemmington Scott, +44-171-278-7769, or jsuckling@hemscott.co.uk; or Janet Kilpatrick or Madeleine Thomas, both of Purple Moon Partnership, +44-7071-225-906 or purmoon@aol.com; or UUNET UK Press Centre, +44-171-287-5540 Web site: http://www.uk.uu.net http://www.afxnews.com http://www.hemscott.com Subscribers please note that material bearing the slug "PROTEXT" is not part of CTK's news service and is not to be published under the "CTK" slug. Protext is a commercial service providing distribution of press releases from clients, who are identified in the text of Protext reports and who bear full responsibility for their contents.