Statement re Sponsorship

5 July 2002

                              The Sage Group plc                               

           Sage Group to sponsor new international centre for music,           

                             `The Sage Gateshead'                              

The Sage Group plc ('Sage' or 'the Group') announces its sponsorship of the new
£70m Music Centre located on Gateshead Quays which will carry the Sage name.
The building, owned by Gateshead Council and managed and programmed by North
Music Trust, is currently under construction and is scheduled for completion in
2003.

The 2,000-seat Music Centre has been designed by Sir Norman Foster's
architectural practice, Foster and Partners, and represents a key component in
the joint bid by Newcastle and Gateshead City Councils to become European City
of Culture 2008.

The Centre itself will be named `The Sage Gateshead' and will be the new home
of Northern Sinfonia and Folkworks. It will host and present a wide range of
major national and international music events. The Group stands to benefit for
many years from enhanced exposure to the Sage name through media coverage of
the Centre's events and the 600,000 expected visitors per year.

Sage will expense the related one-off sponsorship fee of £6 million
(approximately £4 million after tax) to its profit and loss account for the
financial year ending 30 September 2002.

Paul Walker, Chief Executive of Sage said: 'This investment reflects Sage's
long-term commitment to building the Sage brand. This is a unique opportunity
for us to enhance awareness of our brand locally, nationally and
internationally and we look forward to the opening of The Sage Gateshead with
enthusiasm.'

Enquiries

The Sage Group plc                         Financial Dynamics                  
                                                                               
Paul Walker, Chief Executive               Giles Sanderson / Harriet Keen      
                                                                               
Paul Harrison, Finance Director            Tel: [phone]                  
                                                                               
Tel: [phone]