Economist Group

The Economist Group (legally The Economist Newspaper Limited) is a media company headquartered in London, England. It is best known as publisher of The Economist newspaper and its sister lifestyle magazine, 1843. The Economist Group specialises in international business and world affairs information. Its principal activities are in print and digital media as well as in conferences and market intelligence.

The Economist Newspaper Limited

Trade name	The Economist Group
Type	Private limited company
Founded	1843 (London)
Founder	James Wilson
Headquarters	London, England, UK
Area served	Worldwide
Key people	Lara Salameh Boro (Group Chief Executive) Susan Clark (CMO)
Products	Newspapers, magazines, books, films, podcasts
Services	Market intelligence, conferences
Revenue	£361.8 million (2012)[1]
Operating income	£67.3 million (2012)[1]
Net income	£47.23 million (2012)[1]
Total assets	£66.16 million (at 31 March 2012)[1]
Total equity	(£4.57 million) (at 31 March 2012)[1]
Owner	Agnelli families (43.40%) Rothschild, Cadbury, Schroder Layton
Number of employees	1,414 (2012 average)[1]
Divisions	Economist Intelligence Unit, CQ Roll Call, EuroFinance
Website	www.economistgroup.com

Ownership

Pearson plc held a 50% shareholding via The Financial Times Limited until August 2015; at that time Pearson sold their share in the Economist. The Agnelli family's Exor paid £287 million to raise their stake from 4.7% to 43.4%, while the Economist paid £182 million for the balance of 5.04 million shares which will be distributed to current shareholders.[2] Aside from the Agnelli family, smaller shareholders in the company include Cadbury, Rothschild (21%), Schroder, Layton and other family interests as well as a number of staff and former staff shareholders.[2][3]

History

The origins of The Economist Group date back to the foundation of The Economist: A Political, Commercial, Agricultural, & Free-Trade Journal by James Wilson in 1843.[4]

In 1946, the Economist Intelligence Unit began providing business intelligence to both The Economist newspaper and external clients.[4] In the same year, the Economist bookshop was established as a 50:50 joint venture with the London School of Economics.[4]

Economist Conferences was established as a division of Economist Intelligence Unit in 1956 to offer government roundtables.[4]

In 1995, The Economist Group acquired the Journal of Commerce, a US-based provider of information for the shipping and transportation industries.[4] In the same year the Group launched European Voice, the first pan-European Union weekly newspaper.[4]

In July 2004, The Economist Group launched an upmarket lifestyle magazine called Intelligent Life, an annual publication. This magazine was redesigned as a quarterly in September 2007, and became a bi-monthly publication in August 2011. In March 2016, the magazine was renamed 1843.

Launched in 2010, the Ideas People Channel is a vertical online advertising network of around 50 sites defined by the mindset of the audience. The sites recruited for the network were identified by the readers of The Economist as their favourite online destinations for topics on business, globalisation, innovation and culture. The channel competes in the lower-cost, high-volume network advertising market, a category not previously served by The Economist online.[5] Also recently launched is Economist Education, providing e-learning courses.

In March 2012, The Economist Group acquired the London-based marketing communications agency TVC Group for an undisclosed sum.[6]

In April 2012, the Economist Intelligence Unit expanded in Asia with the acquisition of Clearstate, a market intelligence firm specialising in customised strategic advisory and primary research in the healthcare and life sciences domains.[4]

In July 2015, Canback & Company, a strategy consulting firm operating in more than 70 countries was acquired. It is now known as EIU Canback.

Operations

The Economist Group is headquartered in Canary Wharf, London, England, and has offices worldwide, including in Brussels, Belgium, Frankfurt, Germany, Geneva, Switzerland, Paris, France, Dubai, United Arab Emirates, Johannesburg, South Africa, Hong Kong, mainland China, Singapore, Tokyo, Japan, India, New York City and Washington, D.C. in the United States.[7]

The Economist Group's principal activities are newspapers, magazines, conferences and market intelligence. Publications and services delivered under The Economist brand include The Economist newspaper, The Economist online, Economist Intelligence Unit, Economist Conferences, Economist Corporate Network, The World In series and a bi-monthly lifestyle magazine, 1843. The Group’s other brands include CQ Roll Call (aimed at decision-makers on Capitol Hill), EuroFinance, a cash and treasury management event business, and a digital media agency, TVC. European Voice (Brussels), formerly a sister publication of CQ Roll Call, was sold to the French company Selectcom in 2013.

Economist Corporate Network

The Economist Corporate Network is a members-only service within The Economist Group providing global and regional business intelligence briefings, presentations, and advice to its subscribers.[8][9] The Corporate Network relies on the "information, insight, and interaction" provided by regional experts in its parent organization.[10] 81% of its customers are business executives at the director or senior management levels. It has offices in Dubai, Johannesburg, Beijing, Hong Kong, Shanghai, Singapore, and Tokyo.[11]

Corporate affairs

Governance

The current members of the board of directors of The Economist Group are: Rupert Pennant-Rea (Chairman), Zanny Minton Beddoes (editor-in-chief of The Economist), Lady Suzanne Heywood, Brent Hoberman, David Bell, John Elkann, Alex Karp, Sir Simon Robertson, Lady Lynn Forester de Rothschild, Chris Stibbs and Baroness Jowell.[12]

Former board members include: Andrew Rashbass, Rona Fairhead, Philip Mengel[12] and Eric Schmidt (of Alphabet, parent company of Google). The current trustees of the Group are: Virginia Bottomley, Gus O'Donnell, Tim Clark and Bryan Sanderson.[13]

Financial data

	2007	2008	2009	2010	2011	2012	2013	2014	2015	2016
Group turnover	248m	266m	313m	320m	347m	359m	343m	328m	324m	331m
Group operating profit	36m	44m	56m	58m	63m	63m	64m	55m	59m	61m

Source:[1]

References

1. "Annual report 2012" (PDF). The Economist Group. Retrieved 26 October 2012.
2. West, Karl (15 August 2015). "The Economist becomes a family affair". The Guardian. London: The Guardian. Retrieved 15 August 2015. Pearson, the education and publishing giant that has held a non-controlling 50% stake since 1928, is selling the holding for £469m. The deal will make Italy’s Agnelli family, founders of the Fiat car empire, the largest shareholder
3. "Agnellis, Rothschilds close in on Economist". POLITICO. 11 August 2015. Retrieved 1 December 2018.
4. "Our history". The Economist Group. Retrieved 15 December 2012.
5. Moses, Lucia "Economist Launches Online Ad Net", Adweek, 27 October 2010. Retrieved 12 July 2010.
6. "The Economist Group acquires TVC Group in move to create content". PR Week. 14 March 2012. Retrieved 15 December 2012.
7. "Locations | Economist Group". www.economistgroup.com. Retrieved 6 June 2019.
8. "Brighter outlook for Asia in 2013, says Economist Corporate Network's Wood". Archived from the original on 24 April 2013. Retrieved 7 February 2017.
9. "Brighter outlook for Asia in 2013, says Economist Corporate Network's Wood - Yahoo! Singapore Finance".
10. "Economist Corporate Network".
11. "Contact one of our global office locations - Economist Corporate Network". www.corporatenetwork.com. Retrieved 31 August 2017.
12. "Directors". The Economist Group. Retrieved 18 February 2015.
13. "Trustees". The Economist Group. Retrieved 15 April 2013.

External links

• The Economist Group
• Economist Group companies grouped at OpenCorporates