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Sportal: New Funding Will Bring Profitability Next Year

London – 24 August, 2001: Sportal, the leading European provider of interactive sports content, today announced that the company had finalised a new round of funding for its European operations. It is envisaged that this new capital increase will see Sportal through to profitability in early 2002.

The funding in Sportal International, which amounts to €8 million, was raised from a group of existing shareholders, including founder Rob Hersov, Europatweb, GRP, Andell Limited, Whitney and Co. as well as various private individuals and new investor, Dawnay Day Lander.

The completion of this funding coincides with a restructuring of the business, which sees current Chief Operating Officer, Neil MacDonald stepping up to become Sportal’s new CEO. Rob Hersov, Sportal’s founder and former CEO becomes Chairman of the restructured group.

‘We are thrilled to have completed this latest round of funding,’ says Neil MacDonald, CEO of Sportal. ‘We have been through a major cost restructuring of the business over the last six months and our focus now is to continue to lead the sector by being the first to reach profitability. It is our clear belief that this funding will see us through to that point, which we envisage will be in Q2, 2002. This financing is also a fantastic testament to the hard work and dedication that Sportal’s staff have put into the company.’

Jonathan Lander, CEO of Dawnay Day Lander adds, ‘The Sportal that emerges from this restructuring is stronger, leaner and better prepared for the current difficult environment. We are pleased to be assisting them.’

Pierre Louette of Europatweb said: ‘Sportal continues to grow and prove its business model, despite tough market conditions. We are delighted to be reinvesting along with Dawnay Day Lander and many of the original investors. Sportal is a true leader in the European interactive sports sector and we are extremely supportive of Sportal’s strategy.’

Sportal International will continue its operations in UK, Italy, France, Germany, Spain, Sweden and Denmark, while under legal and financial advice, the directors of Sportal Ltd, one of Sportal International’s UK subsidiaries, have applied to the courts to place Sportal Ltd into administration.

In July 2001, the Sportal network generated over 70 million page impressions, of which more than 39 million came from Sportal-branded sites, with another 32 million coming from Sportal franchise sites like AC Milan, Bayern Munich and PSG. This reflects a significant month-on-month rise from a total of 40 million page impressions in April 2001. Also during that time, Sportal has added over 500,000 new unique users, to a total of over 2.9 million monthly users to date.

For further information please contact Mark Thursfield at Sportal on 0207 350 4825 or e-mail mark.thursfield@sportal.net