Reach

What Reach does

Reach plc (LSE: RCH), headquartered at One Canada Square in London, is the UK's largest commercial news publisher, operating 120+ trusted print and digital brands including Mirror, Daily Express, Daily Star, Daily Record, OK! Magazine, and major regional titles such as Manchester Evening News, Liverpool Echo, MyLondon, BelfastLive, and WalesOnline. The company traces its origins to 1832 and was rebranded from Trinity Mirror to Reach plc in 2018. Reach also operates in Ireland and the United States through brands such as Irish Star and the All Out Soccer podcast. As at 31 December 2025, the company employed 3,104 people, of which 1,970 were in editorial roles, 490 in commercial, 355 in print, and 289 in other functions.

Reach's core technology stack combines cloud-based publishing infrastructure on AWS with AI capabilities. Its proprietary product Guten uses foundation models including Anthropic's Claude Sonnet 4 via Amazon Bedrock to automate editorial tasks, with human-in-the-loop review. Mantis is an AI-driven advertising platform handling content recommendations, brand safety, and ad targeting. In February 2026, Reach deployed Taboola's DeeperDive generative AI answer engine across Express and Daily Star to retain users on owned domains as search engines increasingly answer queries directly.

Reach's revenue model is anchored in print (advertising and circulation), which still accounts for roughly 75% of group revenue but is in structural decline (print revenue down 4.6% in FY25). Digital revenue (~£129m in Q1 2026, down 0.9% in FY25 and 8.1% in Q1 2026) is exposed to Google Discover traffic disruption. The company launched its first paid digital subscriptions in November 2025 across 11 titles, targeting 75,000 subscribers by end-2026; it has reached just over 30,000 as of May 2026. Diversification is also underway through affiliate and ecommerce revenue, events and live experiences (Pride of Britain, Pride of Scotland, and the May 2026 acquisition of Affiliate North), the Public Notice Portal B2G service, and US operations. FY25 group revenue was £518.4m, with adjusted operating profit of £104.7m (up 2.4%) and a market-leading 20% operating margin despite a £222.8m non-cash impairment.

Name

Reach

Legal name

Reach plc

Website

https://reachplc.com

Company type

Public

Founded year

2018

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Reach plc is the UK's largest commercial news publisher, operating 120+ print and digital brands including Mirror, Daily Express, Daily Star, and major regional titles, reaching 69% of the UK online population through advertising, circulation, and recently launched digital subscriptions.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

News Publishing

NAICS

Newspaper Publishers (513110), Periodical Publishers (51312), Advertising, Public Relations, and Related Services (5418)

SIC

Newspapers: Publishing Or Publishing & Printing (2711), Periodicals: Publishing Or Publishing & Printing (2721)

akta.pro primary industry

National & General-Interest Newspapers (Print & Digital) (MPAJADAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Digital Magazine & Newspaper Subscription Platforms (Paywalls, Membership) (MPAJAMAD), Newsletter Publishing Platforms (MPACAIAA), Syndication, Licensing & Content Partnerships (Columns, Features, Photos) (MPAJADAI)

Keywords

• News publishing
• Digital subscriptions
• Print advertising
• Journalism brands
• Digital advertising

Headquarters

HQ city

London

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Digital Commerce or Content

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Supply Chain, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Print Advertising: Traditional print advertising revenue from newspapers. Print advertising revenue declined 4.6% in FY25. Print comprises approximately 75% of total revenue but is in structural decline.
2. Digital Advertising: Both direct (advertising generated from direct engagement with advertiser, agency or consumer) and indirect (advertising generated indirectly through social platforms or programmatically on owned websites) digital ad revenues. Digital revenue declined 0.9% in FY25 to £129m in Q1 2026.
3. Print Circulation: Revenue from newspaper sales. Habitual nature of newspaper consumption means reliable demand continues, with over 200 million copies sold last year.
4. Digital Subscriptions: First paid digital subscriptions launched November 2025 after 120 years of free access. Twelve titles now offer paid products including Premium and Gold Star offerings. Target of 75,000 digital subscribers by end of 2026.
5. Affiliates and Ecommerce: Developing and rolling out digital subscriptions, driving continued growth in affiliates and ecommerce as part of revenue diversification strategy.
6. Events and Live Experiences: Events business including Pride of Britain and Pride of Scotland awards. Acquired Affiliate North industry event brand in May 2026.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion4 records

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Reach plc is the UK's largest commercial news publisher, operating a portfolio of 120+ trusted national and regional newspaper brands including Daily Mirror, Daily Express, Daily Star, Daily Record, OK! Magazine, Manchester Evening News, Liverpool Echo, MyLondon, and BelfastLive, delivered via print circulation, paid digital subscriptions, and free ad-supported digital channels. The company monetises its audience primarily through print and digital advertising, with growing diversification into digital subscriptions (launched November 2025), affiliate and ecommerce partnerships, and live events such as the Pride of Britain awards. Underlying the publishing operations are proprietary AI platforms including Guten for editorial automation and Mantis for advertising optimisation.

Product overview

Reach plc operates as a multi-platform news publisher with 120+ brands spanning national newspapers (Mirror, Express, Daily Star, Daily Record), regional news sites (Manchester Evening News, BirminghamLive, Liverpool Echo), and US brands (Irish Star). The company offers digital subscriptions across 11 titles, operates AI-powered publishing tools including Guten and the Mantis advertising platform, and hosts live events including Pride of Britain and Affiliate North. Core technology products include Guten for automated editorial workflows and Mantis for ad targeting, with DeeperDive (from Taboola) providing AI answer engine capabilities.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Mirror: National daily newspaper and digital news brand
• Express
• Daily Record
• Daily Star
• Manchester Evening News
• MyLondon
• BelfastLive
• Irish Star
• OK! Magazine
• WalesOnline
• Liverpool Echo
• Curiously
• Gold Star
• Mantis

Products and services

• Daily Mirror Flagship national tabloid newspaper and digital news brand offering news, sport and entertainment content to UK consumers via print circulation and free ad-supported digital access.
• Daily Express National tabloid newspaper and digital news brand focused on news, politics, current affairs and lifestyle content for UK consumers, known for campaigning journalism.
• Daily Star National tabloid newspaper and digital brand covering news, entertainment and sport, with the Gold Star paid digital subscription product and heavy reliance on MSN syndication for ad revenue.
• Daily Record Scotland's leading tabloid newspaper and digital brand covering Scottish and international news, entertainment and sport for Scottish readers.
• Manchester Evening News Regional news brand covering Manchester and surrounding areas, with a Premium paid digital subscription offering launched in November 2025.
• OK! Magazine Weekly celebrity and lifestyle magazine covering celebrities, fashion, beauty and royal news.
• Irish Star US-based brand delivering Irish and international news content to American audiences, part of Reach's US growth strategy.
• Digital Subscriptions (Premium and Gold Star) Paid digital subscription products launched in November 2025 after 120 years of free access, offered across 11 Reach titles including Manchester Evening News Premium and Daily Star Gold Star, targeting 75,000 digital subscribers by end of 2026.
• Pride of Britain Awards Annual awards event celebrating ordinary people who have done extraordinary things, run by Reach's Events and Live Experiences team.
• Pride of Scotland Awards Scottish awards event celebrating extraordinary Scots, part of Reach's Events and Live Experiences portfolio.
• Affiliate North Annual industry event brand based in Manchester bringing together affiliates, brands and marketers for expert insights, networking and growth, acquired by Reach in May 2026 and integrated into the Events and Live Experiences team.

Quantifiable outcome

• Breaking news publication time reduced from 9 minutes to 90 seconds
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers2 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration1 record

AI capability7 records

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Ten partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.

• ARIAM (Alliance for Responsible Innovation in the Arts & Media)minorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 15 June 2026Reach is a founding member of ARIAM, a new AI-focused content coalition dedicated to responsible and sustainable AI innovation and human creativity. Led by former Netflix executive Victoria Furniss. Coalition includes Disney, Adobe, New York Times, BBC, Condé Nast, Financial Times, ITV, and Wiley.
• TaboolacoreTechnology or Integration · 5 February 2025Reach selected Taboola's DeeperDive generative AI answer engine for implementation across publisher websites including Express and Daily Star. The solution helps publishers combat challenges from generative AI search engines by providing AI-driven answers sourced from their own content, while creating new monetization opportunities through contextually relevant advertising.
• Amazon Web Services (AWS)coreTechnology or IntegrationReach developed its AI-powered product Guten using AWS services to automate manual editorial tasks and accelerate publishing workflows. AWS infrastructure supports the platform.
• AnthropiccoreTechnology or IntegrationGuten leverages foundation models including Anthropic's Claude Sonnet 4 on Amazon Bedrock, with human-in-the-loop review processes to mitigate AI hallucinations and maintain editorial quality.
• MSNcoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorOff-platform traffic partnership. Daily Star relies heavily on MSN syndication as one of its biggest sources of ad revenue. Reach is diversifying traffic sources through MSN, Apple News, and Yahoo partnerships.
• Apple NewscoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorOff-platform traffic partnership to diversify away from Google search dependency. Content distributed through Apple News platform.
• YahoocoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorOff-platform traffic partnership to diversify traffic sources. Content distributed through Yahoo platforms.
• The King's TrustminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership for Get Into Journalism programme for young people aged 18-30 from underprivileged and under-represented backgrounds. Provides 18-month content creator apprenticeships in national and regional newsrooms.
• HenpickedminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership for Menopause Friendly accreditation and menopause support programmes. Reach achieved official Menopause Friendly accreditation from Henpicked in November 2025.
• Valuable 500minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerReach is a founding member of the Valuable 500, a disability-focused business collective focused on disability inclusion in the workplace.

Scale indicators13 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• ITV plc: ITV is a major UK commercial broadcaster with a large digital news and streaming presence (ITV News, ITVX). Broad incumbent operating in UK media with overlapping advertiser relationships and digital video competition with Reach's video-led strategy.

Direct peers

• Future plc: Future plc is a UK-listed multi-brand digital publisher with magazines, news, and specialist sites. Direct peer as a UK-headquartered content business built on multiple trusted brands monetized via advertising, subscriptions, and ecommerce, with comparable diversification strategy.
• Condé Nast: Condé Nast is a global multi-brand publisher (Vogue, GQ, Vanity Fair, Wired). Direct peer as a multi-brand magazine and digital publisher, particularly relevant given Reach's OK! Magazine and George Grist's prior background at Condé Nast.
• DMGT: DMGT is a UK-listed media group operating national newspapers (MailOnline, Metro, Daily Mail) and B2B information businesses. Direct peer as a UK-based multi-brand news publisher with similar print/digital revenue mix and subscription/ advertising model.
• Axel Springer: Axel Springer is a major European news publisher (Bild, Politico, Business Insider, eMarketer). Direct peer as a multi-brand national/regional newspaper and digital publisher pursuing paywall and subscription strategies, with comparable structural print decline.
• The New York Times Company: The New York Times Company is a global multi-platform news publisher with a leading digital subscription business. Direct peer as a paywall-led news publisher and ARIAM coalition member alongside Reach, with comparable digital subscription execution benchmarks.
• News Corp: News Corp is one of the world's largest news publishers (The Times, The Sun, Wall Street Journal, New York Post, Australian newspapers). It is a direct peer as both companies are multi-brand national/regional newspaper operators in print and digital, monetizing across advertising, subscriptions, and circulation.
• Guardian Media Group: Guardian Media Group publishes The Guardian and The Observer, UK-based national newspapers with strong digital readership. Direct peer as a national UK news publisher with overlapping audience and digital subscription model, though structured as a trust rather than a listed company.
• Gannett: Gannett is the largest US newspaper publisher (USA Today, hundreds of local titles). Direct peer as a multi-brand national and regional newspaper operator with similar print-to-digital transition challenges and subscription strategy (USA Today subscriptions).

Emerging players

• BuzzFeed: BuzzFeed is a US-based digital-native news and entertainment publisher. Emerging player comparison as both companies compete for digital audience share and ad dollars, though BuzzFeed lacks Reach's print heritage and UK scale.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/reach-plc
• Xx.com/ReachPress

Compliance5 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles10 records

Subsidiaries3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds1 record

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A17 records

Investments3 records

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Reach