Bright Station Sells officeshopper Assets.

Business Editors

LONDON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 9, 2001

Bright Station plc (LSE: BSN, NASDAQ: BSTN) ("Bright Station" or "the Group") today announced that it has entered into a legally binding agreement regarding the sale of the name, customer list and debtor book of officeshopper, its online office supplies company, to Inkwell Direct, a division of the Howarine Calvert group of companies, for consideration of up to (pound)450,000, payable in cash.

In the year ended December 31, 2000, officeshopper had turnover of (pound)1.7 million and a loss before interest and tax of (pound)2.7 million. The net book value of the assets that are subject to this transaction at today's date is (pound)357,000. Consideration of (pound)195,000 will be payable within the next 30 days, with the balance of consideration payable based upon the recoverability of debtor balances and the gross profit of officeshopper over the next 18 months.

This sale is in line with Bright Station's stated strategy of restructuring the Group to reposition it as a "pure play" knowledge management business through Smartlogik, its knowledge management subsidiary.

The disposal of these officeshopper assets will reduce the ongoing operational cash outflows of the Group and will mitigate anticipated closure costs. Bright Station will retain the liability for any costs associated with the closure of the officeshopper operations.

As part of the Group restructuring, Bright Station has also today transferred its 100% shareholding in WebTop to Smartlogik. Smartlogik intends to leverage WebTop's 500 million page index of the Web to complement their product offering, allowing Smartlogik customers to search both internal and external information simultaneously. In addition, WebTop's leading Cambridge-based programmers will work on enhancing Smartlogik's knowledge management tools.

The only non-core business now remaining within the Group is Sparza, where the cost base has been reduced and plans made for its closure in the event that an offer is not forthcoming shortly.

During the past month, corporate overheads have also been curtailed, and the corporate center is now focused exclusively on completing the restructuring and on securing additional financing for the ongoing business, Smartlogik. In light of the developments announced today, the Group will be able to make further cost reductions during the remainder of Q2.

Allen Thomas, Chairman of Bright Station, said: "I am pleased that we have agreed to a sale of these officeshopper assets and that we have made progress on the other aspects of our restructuring. Discussions continue with a number of parties with regard to our financing requirements. Based on the current status of these discussions the Board remains confident of a successful outcome."

This news announcement may contain forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, which are subject to the "safe harbor" created by those sections. The forward-looking statements can be identified by terminology such as "may," "will," "expect," "intend," "estimate,"anticipate," "inevitable," "believe" or "continue" or variations thereon, and include, among others, the launch dates of the Company's products noted above. The Company's actual results could differ materially from those discussed in the forward-looking statements as a result of certain factors, including, among others, those set forth under the caption "Risk Factors" in the Company's most recent Report on Form 20-F or generally in the Company's Reports on Form 6-K. The Company disclaims any obligation to update these forward-looking statements as a result of subsequent events.