
<PAGE>
                           OFFER TO PURCHASE FOR CASH
                            ALL ORDINARY SHARES AND
            AMERICAN DEPOSITARY SHARES REPRESENTING ORDINARY SHARES
                                       OF
                               SMALLWORLDWIDE PLC
                                       AT
                       $20.00 PER ORDINARY SHARE AND ADS
                                       BY
                        GE POWER SYSTEMS EQUITIES, INC.
                          A WHOLLY OWNED SUBSIDIARY OF
                            GENERAL ELECTRIC COMPANY

------------------------------------------------------------
THE OFFER AND WITHDRAWAL RIGHTS WILL EXPIRE AT 10:00 A.M. (NEW YORK CITY TIME),
  3:00 P.M. (LONDON TIME), ON FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 22, 2000 UNLESS THE OFFER IS
  EXTENDED.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

                                                                 August 24, 2000

To Brokers, Dealers, Commercial Banks,
Trust Companies and Other Nominees:

    We have been appointed by GE Power Systems Equities, Inc., a Delaware
corporation (the "Offeror"), a wholly owned subsidiary of General Electric
Company, a New York corporation ("GE"), to act as the Dealer Manager in
connection with the Offeror's offer to purchase all of the outstanding
(1) ordinary shares, nominal value of L0.01 each ("Ordinary Shares"), and
(2) American Depositary Shares ("ADSs"), each representing one Ordinary Share
and evidenced by American Depositary Receipts ("ADRs") of Smallworldwide plc, a
public limited company incorporated under the laws of England and Wales
("Smallworld"), for $20.00 in cash per Ordinary Share or ADS (such amount, or
any greater amount per share paid pursuant to the Offer, being referred to
herein as the "Offer Price"). The Ordinary Shares and the ADSs are referred to
collectively as the "Shares". The Offer is subject to the terms and conditions
set forth in the Offer to Purchase dated August 24, 2000 (the "Offer to
Purchase"), in the Letter of Transmittal (which is only applicable to holders of
ADSs) and in the Form of Acceptance enclosed herewith (which is only applicable
to holders of Ordinary Shares) (which, together with the Offer to Purchase, as
amended from time to time, constitute the "Offer"). Please furnish copies of the
enclosed materials to those of your clients for whose accounts you hold ADSs
registered in your name or in the name of your nominee.

    Enclosed for your information and use are copies of the following documents:

        1.  Offer to Purchase, dated August 24, 2000;

        2.  Letter of Transmittal to be used by holders of ADSs in accepting the
    Offer and tendering ADSs;

        3.  Notice of Guaranteed Delivery to be used to accept the Offer if the
    certificates for ADRs representing ADSs and all other required documents are
    not immediately available or cannot be delivered to The Bank of New York
    (the "U.S. Depositary") to be received as soon as possible and, in any
    event, by the Expiration Date (as defined in the Offer to Purchase) or if
    the procedures for book-entry transfer cannot be completed on a timely
    basis;

        4.  A letter which may be sent to your clients for whose accounts you
    hold ADSs registered in your name or in the name of your nominee, with space
    provided for obtaining such clients' instructions with regard to the Offer;
<PAGE>
        5.  A letter to shareholders from Richard G. Newell, Chairman of
    Smallworld, together with a Solicitation/Recommendation Statement on
    Schedule 14D-9 dated August 24, 2000, which has been filed by Smallworld
    with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

        6.  Guidelines for Certification of Taxpayer Identification Number on
    Substitute Forms W-9 and W-8; and

        7.  A return envelope addressed to the U.S. Depositary.

    WE URGE YOU TO CONTACT YOUR CLIENTS AS PROMPTLY AS POSSIBLE. PLEASE NOTE
THAT THE OFFER AND WITHDRAWAL RIGHTS EXPIRE AT 10:00 A.M. (NEW YORK CITY TIME),
3:00 P.M. (LONDON TIME), ON FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 22, 2000, UNLESS THE OFFER IS
EXTENDED.

    In all cases, payment for ADSs accepted for payment pursuant to the Offer
will be made only after timely receipt by the U.S. Depositary of (i) ADRs
evidencing such ADSs (or a confirmation of a book-entry transfer of such ADSs
into the U.S. Depositary's account at the Book-Entry Transfer Facility (as
defined in the Offer to Purchase)), (ii) a properly completed and duly executed
Letter of Transmittal (or a properly completed and manually signed facsimile
thereof) or an Agent's Message (as defined in the Offer to Purchase) in
connection with a book-entry transfer and (iii) any other required documents.

    If holders of ADSs wish to tender, but it is impracticable for them to
forward their ADRs or other required documents or to complete the procedures for
delivery by book-entry transfer on a timely basis as soon as possible and, in
any event, prior to the Final Expiration Date, a tender may be effected by
following the guaranteed delivery procedure described in Section 3 ("Procedures
for Accepting the Offer and Tendering Shares") in the Offer to Purchase.

    The Offer is conditioned upon, among other things, the Offeror having
received valid acceptances (not properly withdrawn) by the expiration of the
initial offer period in respect of not less than ninety (90%) percent of the
Shares (or such lower percentage in excess of fifty (50%) percent, determined as
stated below, as the Offeror may decide) in nominal value of the Shares to which
the Offer relates, provided that such condition (the "Minimum Tender Condition")
will not be satisfied unless the Offeror shall have acquired or agreed
(unconditionally or subject only to conditions that will be fulfilled upon the
Offer becoming or being declared unconditional in all respects) to acquire
(whether pursuant to the Offer or otherwise), Shares carrying or representing,
in the aggregate, more than fifty (50%) of the voting rights normally
exercisable at general meetings of Smallworld and provided further that the
Minimum Tender Condition shall be capable of being satisfied only at a time when
all other conditions have been satisfied, fulfilled or waived. The Offeror
reserves the right to reduce the percentage of Shares required to satisfy the
Minimum Tender Condition at some time prior to all the conditions being
satisfied, fulfilled or, where permitted, waived. The initial offer period will
expire, or be extended for a period of, not less than five (5) business days (or
such other period as shall satisfy Rule 14e-1 under the Exchange Act of 1934, as
amended, and the rules of the U.K. City Code on Takeovers and Mergers) from the
date on which the Offeror has announced any reduction in the percentage of
Shares required to be received for the purposes of the Minimum Tender Condition,
subject to the further terms of the Offer as set forth in Section 15 ("Certain
Conditions of the Offer") in the Offer to Purchase.

    The Offer is not being made, directly or indirectly, in or into, or by use
of the mails or other means of instrumentality (including, without limitation,
telephonic or electronic) of interstate or foreign commerce of, or any
facilities of a national securities exchange of, Australia, Canada or Japan and
will not be capable of acceptance by such use, means, instrumentality or
facilities or from Australia, Canada or Japan. Accordingly, neither the Offer
Document nor the Letter of Transmittal or Form of Acceptance (or any related
offering documentation) is being mailed or otherwise distributed or sent in or
into Australia, Canada or Japan.

    The Offer to Purchase is not being distributed or sent, into or from
Australia, Canada or Japan. Persons reading the Offer to Purchase (including,
without limitation, custodians, nominees and trustees)

                                       2
<PAGE>
must not distribute or send the Offer to Purchase or the Letter of Transmittal
or Form of Acceptance (or any related offering documentation) in, into or from
Australia, Canada or Japan or use Australian, Canadian or Japanese mails for any
purpose, directly or indirectly, in connection with the Offer and doing so may
invalidate any purported acceptance of the Offer.

    The Offeror will not pay any fees or commissions to any broker, dealer or
other person (other than the Dealer Manager, the U.S. Depositary, the U.K.
Receiving Agent and the Information Agent as described in the Offer to Purchase)
or any fees associated with the cancellation of the ADSs under the Deposit
Agreement (as defined in the Offer to Purchase), in connection with the
solicitation of tenders of ADSs pursuant to the Offer. However, the Offeror
will, upon request, reimburse you for customary mailing and handling expenses
incurred by you in forwarding the enclosed materials to your clients. The
Offeror will pay or cause to be paid any stock transfer taxes payable with
respect to the transfer of Shares to it, except as otherwise provided in
Instruction 6 of the Letter of Transmittal.

    Any inquiries you may have with respect to the Offer should be addressed to
Morrow & Co., Inc. (the "Information Agent") at the addresses and telephone
numbers set forth on the back cover page of the Offer to Purchase.

    Additional copies of the enclosed materials may be obtained from the
Information Agent, at the addresses and telephone numbers set forth on the back
cover page of the Offer to Purchase.

    Very truly yours,

    [LOGO]

    NOTHING CONTAINED HEREIN OR IN THE ENCLOSED DOCUMENTS SHALL RENDER YOU, OR
ANY OTHER PERSON, THE AGENT OF THE OFFEROR, THE DEALER MANAGER, THE INFORMATION
AGENT OR THE U.S. DEPOSITARY (ALSO, THE U.K. RECEIVING AGENT), OR OF ANY
AFFILIATE OF ANY OF THEM, OR AUTHORIZE YOU OR ANY OTHER PERSON TO USE ANY
DOCUMENT OR MAKE ANY STATEMENT ON BEHALF OF ANY OF THEM IN CONNECTION WITH THE
OFFER OTHER THAN THE ENCLOSED DOCUMENTS AND THE STATEMENTS CONTAINED THEREIN.

                                       3
