Public Tender

NewMedia SPARK PLC
24 August 2001

             NewMedia SPARK announces Public Tender to acquire a

                          majority stake in Sputz AG


NewMedia SPARK-Holding GmbH, a wholly owned subsidiary of NewMedia SPARK plc
('SPARK'), today announces a public tender to acquire a majority stake in
Sputz AG, one of Germany's leading broking and venture capital organisations.
NewMedia SPARK-Holding is offering a price of Euro8.50 per share, a premium of
31% to the price at the market close on 22 August 2001. Calculated on the
average market closing price of the last three months, the premium amounts to
approximately 33% per share. NewMedia SPARK Holding has already entered into
an agreement to acquire 26.4% of Sputz AG. SPARK wishes to acquire sufficient
further shares to give it at least 51% of the share capital of Sputz, however
it reserves the right to acquire more shares if tendered.

Sputz AG is a holding company listed on the Frankfurt stock exchange, SPARK's
present intention is to maintain this listing following its acquisition of 51%
control. Sputz's portfolio of holdings includes a number of important
financial businesses, operating both on-line and off-line. For example, it
owns approximately 1% of the Deutsche Borse and approximately 11% of Tullett &
Tokyo Liberty plc, as well as having majority ownership of significant German
broking operations and a minority holding in Germany's first ECN. In addition
it owns stakes in several technology related pre-IPO businesses, and has been
in the process of developing a venture capital investment business to
complement its financial services businesses. It also has fund management
operations. Sputz is headquartered in Dusseldorf and also has operations in
Frankfurt.

SPARK is one of Europe's leading quoted venture capital organisations. The
acquisition of a majority stake in Sputz will provide SPARK with a quoted
vehicle to further expand its existing operations in the German speaking
market. As a majority stakeholder in Sputz, SPARK's extensive experience in
the venture capital and financial markets would enable it to maximize the
value of Sputz's operating businesses and investments. There are considerable
synergies between these operating businesses and investments and SPARK's
existing portfolio, which includes extensive investments in on-line financial
transaction platforms.

Commenting on the public tender, Michael Whitaker, CEO of SPARK said:

'This is an important deal for SPARK. The current poor market conditions are
creating unique opportunities for investment. We view the German capital
markets as having particularly interesting potential at the present time, both
for venture capital investments and for amalgamating technology based
financial platforms with traditional broking operations. In Germany, venture
capital and broking businesses tend to be much more closely aligned than in
the UK. Sputz has a good mix of unquoted investments and broking operations
operating on-line and off-line, and we believe that it will provide an ideal
platform for both our further expansion into the German speaking market and
for the further development of SPARK's significant investments in on-line
financial transaction platforms.'

The offer period during which shareholders can offer their shares to NewMedia
SPARK-Holding commences on 27 August 2001 and closes on 24 September 2001.
NewMedia SPARK-Holding reserves the right to extend this offer period. Sputz
presently has 5.5 million ordinary shares in issue, and at SPARK's tender
offer price of Euro8.50 per share is valued at Euro46.8m.



Contacts:

Michael Whitaker

NewMedia SPARK plc                [phone]

Alexander Eichner

NewMedia SPARK-Holding GmbH       [phone]

Lawerence Dore

Mantra                            [phone]



About NewMedia SPARK plc

Listed on London's Alternative Investment Market, NewMedia SPARK plc is one of
Europe's leading quoted venture capital organisations. SPARK currently has a
portfolio of investments in over 50 companies in Europe and India. At 31 March
2001, SPARK's portfolio was valued at £109.7m and it had cash reserves of £
76.6m. SPARK has operations in London, Stockholm, Berlin and Madrid. For
further information see www.newmediaspark.com.