Text 100 today announced its first regional move in the UK with the opening of Text 100 Scotland. Based in Edinburgh, the subsidiary office will service technology clients in Scotland and northern England. Its first client will be Microsoft Scotland, a national client for Text 100, which also has a local presence in the country. Text 100 Scotland was opened in response to the growing regional interest in the media to technology issues and the need for a stronger national presence in a post-devolution Scotland. Services available will include media relations, speaker bureau and public affairs.

The contact details are:

Text 100 Scotland
1 St Colme Street
Edinburgh, EH3 6AA
Tel: 0131 220 8351
Email: text100scotland@text100.co.uk

Katie Kemp, Text 100's UK Managing Director, said: "Our global strategy naturally extends to include expansion regionally within the UK. Scottish devolution combined with a distinct Scottish media which is focusing more and more on technology issues, made us realise that Scotland now, more than ever, needs to be treated as a separate entity in PR terms.

She continued: "Scotland represents a dynamic market with a strongly independent identity and its own national media, government, legal and business infrastructure. If you want to succeed in Scotland you must have a presence there. In recent years we have seen an increasing number of technology companies recognise this and open offices there. Initially, this was focused on manufacturing but now the healthy economy has shown technology companies that businesses and consumers in Scotland are anxious to hear about their products - this is where we come in."

Alistair Baker, Country Manager, Microsoft Scotland commented: "In my position I need to make the right decisions to drive my business forward and PR plays an important role in supporting our presence in the Scottish marketplace as well as contributing to our long term success. As Microsoft's retained agency in the UK it was a logical step for us to appoint them to handle our business in Scotland in order to provide us with the specialist technology PR service we were looking for.

He continued: "Text 100's innovative approach to public relations means that we are constantly challenged in the approach we take to our marketing communications. Text's success, both in the UK and internationally has convinced me that they are the best partner for me to work with as they offer expertise, market knowledge and media contacts which will complement my marketing activity in Scotland."

Text 100 now has 17 offices spanning the globe, all of which are wholly owned subsidiaries specialising in the technology industry. Each office aims to be the premier provider of technology PR in its market and is linked through technology and methodology to every other office. In this way, Text 100 shares its strong PR methodology across geographic boundaries while recognising and retaining the cultural needs of the local media and its clients.

Text 100 Group plc is Europe's leading technology PR consultancy. Established in 1981, it is retained by many of the world's leading companies to provide business to business, consumer, corporate, trade and technology PR on a national and international basis. Clients include BT Global Satellite Services, Datapro, Gateway 2000, Microsoft, Orange, Swatch Telecom and The Document Company, Xerox.

Text 100 currently has subsidiaries in New Delhi, Bangalore, Stockholm, London, Paris, Munich, Amsterdam, Madrid, Milan, Dublin, Seattle, Boston, San Francisco, Johannesburg, Cape Town and operates specialist pan-European business units in Digital TV, Consumer Technology, Telecommunications and Public Affairs. The company has associated agencies in Eastern Europe, Belgium, Austria, Taiwan, Japan, Australia and Canada. Text 100 is a member of the Public Relations Consultants Association and its shares are quoted on London's OFEX stock market. You can see the company's web site at www.text100.co.uk.

For further information, please contact:

Mark Pinsent
Text 100
Tel: +44 181 242 4171
Email: markp@text100.co.uk