Allied Capital Invests $27.4 million in MVL Group.

WASHINGTON -- Allied Capital Corporation (NYSE:ALD) announced today that it has invested $27.4 million in portfolio company MVL Group to finance a portion of its acquisition of Marketing Research Services, Inc. ("MRSI"). The investment took the form of a senior secured term loan and senior subordinated notes. MVL Group is majority owned by Allied Capital.

MRSI is a leading market research firm that provides custom market research for Fortune 500 and other consumer and business-to-business companies. The company offers a full suite of research services designed to answer the strategic marketing needs of their clients.

"We are pleased to provide ongoing support to MVL and its management team as they continue to execute on a growth and acquisition strategy to build MVL into a leading, fully integrated marketing services firm," said John Shulman, Managing Director of Allied Capital. "The MRSI acquisition will give MVL additional full-service research capabilities which are complementary to its current service menu, and will contribute to economies of scale in MVL's data collection businesses."

"Allied Capital has been a valuable financial partner to MVL, initially as a subordinated debt lender to the business and now as our primary financial partner," said Van Lefferdink, CEO of MVL Group. "We look forward to continuing, with Allied's support, to build the pre-eminent full-service market research company in the U.S."

About Allied Capital

Allied Capital Corporation, a leading business development company with total assets of more than $3 billion, has paid regular, quarterly cash dividends to shareholders since 1963. Allied Capital invests in the American entrepreneurial economy by providing capital to companies seeking a long-term financial partner and access to managerial resources often unavailable to smaller companies. Since its IPO in 1960, the Company has provided long-term debt and equity financing to thousands of middle market companies. In serving its shareholders, Allied Capital helps build middle market businesses and support American jobs. The Company's private finance portfolio includes investments in over 100 companies that generate aggregate revenues of more than $10 billion and employ more than 80,000 people.

Headquartered in Washington, DC, Allied Capital offers shareholders the opportunity to participate in the private equity industry through an investment in the Company's New York Stock Exchange-listed stock, which is traded under the symbol ALD. For more information, please visit www.alliedcapital.com, call Allied Capital investor relations toll-free at [phone], or e-mail us at [e-mail]. All media inquiries should be directed to Stan Collender of Financial Dynamics at [phone].

About MVL Group

Headquartered in Jupiter, Florida, MVL Group is a premier custom research company offering both data collection as well as custom market research services to customers nationwide. The Company's data collection division operates through Quick Test/Heakin, Discovery Research and PhoneBase Research. The data collection services use various channels to collect both quantitative and qualitative data, including mall intercept, focus group/field interviews, computer-assisted telephone interviews and the Internet. MVL's national data collection network includes 57 mall-intercept locations in 26 states, nine phone centers utilizing approximately 750 seats, and seven free standing focus facilities in six states. MVL's full service division, Target Research Group, advises clients on all elements of a research project's scope, objectives and collection methodology, as well as providing data analysis and interpretation. For more information, please visit www.quicktest.com.

About Marketing Research Services, Inc.

Started in 1973, MRSI is a custom market research firm serving Fortune 500 customers. MRSI offers a range of strategic quantitative and qualitative research solutions, including the PRISM(R) research system which guides clients through one or more stages of product development, ENFOQUE(SM), a three-step Hispanic research process and iResearch(R), a comprehensive array of on-line research tools. Headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio, the company operates a 90-station call center in Cincinnati as well as sales offices in Chicago, Illinois and Wilmington, North Carolina. MRSI employs approximately 280 people nationwide. For more information, please visit www.mrsi.com.

Forward-Looking Statements

The information contained in this press release contains forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are subject to the inherent uncertainties in predicting future results and conditions. Certain factors could cause actual results and conditions to differ materially from those projected in these forward-looking statements, and these factors are enumerated in the company's periodic filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.