AGM Statement

Bloomsbury Publishing PLC
27 June 2002

                           Bloomsbury Publishing Plc

                                  AGM Statement

London, 27th June 2002:  At the AGM of Bloomsbury Publishing Plc, being held at
their London offices at 12.00 noon Thursday 27th June 2002, Chairman Nigel
Newton will make the following statement:

STATEMENT

I am delighted to say that Bloomsbury is having an excellent 2002, demonstrating
success in developing future growth areas including electronic reference, A & C
Black and the US publishing division.  Our strategy has been to concentrate on
increasing the longevity and sustainability of our revenue streams.
Accordingly, we have made a considerable investment in our future list,
concentrating on developing new authors and long-term properties.  This strategy
is delivering returns, with the backlist accounting for over 60% of sales in
2001.

A & C Black has performed particularly well, with Who's Who now in its 154th
edition, and Black's Medical and Veterinary Dictionaries in their 40th and 19th
editions respectively.  Since the year-end, the company has acquired Whitaker's
Almanack, one of the UK's best-known reference titles since its first
publication in 1868.  This deal consolidates Bloomsbury's position as a leading
reference publisher with a strong portfolio of prestigious brands and
demonstrates the value of A & C Black as a vehicle for acquiring specialist
lists.  On Wednesday, A & C Black acquired the long established and highly
respected Poyser imprint, consolidating its position as the world's leading
ornithological publisher.  The company remains actively engaged in pursuing such
opportunities.  The A & C Black backlist, including new editions of annuals, now
comprises 80% of its total turnover, and is expected to continue generating
long-term revenue.

We have begun work on the second edition of the Encarta World English
Dictionary, which was first published in electronic and print formats by
Microsoft and Bloomsbury in 1999.  The pocket editions of both the Dictionary
and the Thesaurus are due for publication in August.  The English Language
Teaching database, launched in March 2002, in partnership with Macmillan, has
exceeded expectations.  Bloomsbury's international electronic reference team is
currently compiling the database for Business: The Ultimate Resource, which will
be published worldwide in September.  Interest to date has been extremely
strong, with a number of international publishing and electronic deals already
signed.

Following the signing of Donna Tartt, the book division will be publishing her
greatly anticipated novel, The Little Friend, in the autumn.  Ash Wednesday, the
novel by Hollywood star Ethan Hawke, will also be published this year.

The US division is trading well and has had a number of bestsellers including A
Cook's Tour, The Outfit, and Stud.  Bloomsbury USA published its first
children's books in May this year.  The list has been well received and we
expect this to become a significant revenue-generating operation.

We anticipate another surge in Harry Potter sales on the back of the release of
the second film on 15th November 2002.  On the basis of good results in the
current financial year to date, the Company remains confident that it will
achieve its budgeted profits for the year ending 31st December 2002.

For further information:

Simon Forrest, Impact Consultancy:                 07885 317746
Kirsty Black, Impact Consultancy:                  07961 433041

                      This information is provided by RNS
            The company news service from the London Stock Exchange