Appointment of Non-Executive Director

13th September 2006

Appointment of Non-executive Director

                                                                               
    The Sage Group plc has today appointed Ruth Markland as a non-executive    
                       director, with immediate effect.                        

Ruth, aged 53, was a senior partner of the law firm Freshfields Bruckhaus
Deringer ("Freshfields") until her retirement in 2003 after twenty six years
with the firm. For her last eight years with Freshfields, Ruth was Managing
Partner for Asia.

Ruth is also a non-executive director of Standard Chartered plc, chairs the
Remuneration Committee, and sits as a member of its Audit and Risk Committee
and Nominations Committee.

During her career, Ruth has gathered deep operational experience of services
businesses in an international context and has participated in board-level
strategy development.

In her capacity as non-executive director at Sage, Ruth will sit on the
Remuneration Committee, Nominations Committee and Audit Committee.

The Board has also agreed that David Clayton, currently non-executive director
at Sage, would take up the position of senior independent non-executive
director, to replace Lindsay Bury who retired at the AGM in May 2006.

Sir Julian Horn-Smith, Chairman of Sage, commented:

"We are delighted to welcome Ruth to the Sage Group Board. In addition to a
wealth of practical experience in managing and advising businesses, Ruth also
brings expertise in working with public company boards, all of which will
benefit the Sage Board. We look forward to working with Ruth as we develop our
international and services strategies.

"We also welcome David to his new role as senior independent non-executive
director. David joined the Board in June 2004 and has been a valuable source of
advice in the past two years."

There are no other details requiring disclosure under Listing Rule 9.6.13,
relating to further information on this appointment, including other public
company directorships.

Photographs are available from Tulchan Communications. Please contact the team
on 020 7353 4200.


Enquiries: The Sage Group plc Tulchan Communications
Paul Walker, Chief Executive, Julie Foster,

Paul Harrison, Finance Director Kirstie Hamilton

Phil Branston, Investor Relations


Tel: [phone] Tel: + 44 (0) 20 7353 4200

Notes to editors: The Sage Group plc is a leading international supplier of
accounting and business management software solutions and related products and
services, principally for small to medium-sized enterprises. Formed in 1981,
Sage was floated on the London Stock Exchange in 1989 and the Group now employs
over 10,000 people worldwide.