Contract Win

Focus Solutions Group PLC
17 September 2001

17 September 2001

          Focus signs contract with insurance giant Scottish Widows

Focus Solutions Group plc ('Focus' and 'The Company'), the leading provider of
software solutions to reduce the costs of transacting business electronically
in the financial services industry, announces today that Scottish Widows has
selected Focus' 'goal:technology' to enable electronic processing and
transacting of life and pensions applications.

Scottish Widows, now part of the Lloyds TSB Group, which includes Cheltenham &
Gloucester, will initially use goal:technology to collect transactions
electronically from IFA channels via service providers.

Ian Lockhart, head of E-Commerce at Scottish Widows, said:

'Scottish Widows is constantly looking to increase the speed of bringing new
products to market and to reduce the costs of acquiring new business. goal:
technology from Focus will play a key part in helping us achieve this,
particularly in the IFA community.'

John Streets, Chief Executive of Focus Solutions Group plc, said:

'Winning such a major life and pensions player as Scottish Widows is a
milestone for Focus. With 7 of the top 10 major players in this market using
Focus's goal:technology for acquiring new business electronically, the life
and pensions industry now has a real opportunity to significantly reduce the £
6bn a year it currently spends on acquiring and processing new business.'

                                    -ends-

Enquiries:
Focus Solutions Group                                             01926 468 300

John Streets

Claire Forrest

Citigate Dewe Rogerson                                            020 7638 9571

Chris Barrie

Sara Batchelor

Notes to editors:


 1. Focus Solutions Group is a leading provider of software solutions to reduce
    the costs of transacting business electronically in the financial services
    industry. The Company's products support the sale and delivery of
    financial products electronically via existing sales channels such as the
    independent financial adviser (IFA) market place and direct sales. Focus'
    XML-based toolkit is called 'goal:technology'. This enables 'intelligent'
    electronic proposals, which replace traditional paper-based application
    forms, to be constructed quickly and efficiently by the insurance
    companies and completed easily by the end user. It will allow the life,
    pensions, savings and investment market to move away from the costly
    paper-based sales process to electronic trading.

 2. Following this announcement, Focus has sold 'goal:technology' to two-thirds
    of the UK's leading life and pensions companies including Royal & Sun
    Alliance, Norwich Union Life, Legal & General, Skandia, ZIFA, Aegon,
    Standard Life, Scottish Provident, NPI and Friends Provident. Focus has to
    date also partnered with three of the UK's leading internet service
    providers specialising in financial products, providing software to enable
    e-commerce transactions; Assuresoft, The Exchange FS, and Synaptic
    Systems. In May and June this year respectively, Focus announced a
    licensing agreement with MPO Inc for a new server based version of 'goal:
    technology' to be used in the North American market and a major licensing
    agreement with Spotlight Interactive, a leading South African software
    supplier, to sell 'goal:technology' to South African insurers. Focus has
    also recently launched a 'goal:technology' solution to capture mortgage
    applications on-line for the mortgage market.