Newsquest
Newsquest Media Group is the UK’s second largest regional newspaper publisher, operating 250+ local news brands and magazines reaching 50 million monthly digital visitors and 4 million weekly print readers. It is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Gannett Co., Inc., and generates revenue primarily from advertising, with additional streams from LOCALiQ/ReachEdge SME digital marketing SaaS, job platforms, subscriptions, and contract printing.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded1996
- HeadquartersLondon, United Kingdom
- Headcount1,001–5,000
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
What Newsquest does
Newsquest Media Group Limited is the second largest regional newspaper and local media publisher in the United Kingdom, operating a portfolio of more than 250 local news brands and magazines across print and digital channels. Founded in 1996 as a management buy-out of Reed Regional Newspapers (backed by KKR) and acquired by Gannett Co., Inc. (NYSE-listed, formerly USA Today Co.) in July 1999, the company is headquartered in London with a registered office in Bournemouth, and operates additional offices in Manchester, Edinburgh, and Oxford. The group reaches approximately 50 million digital visitors per month and 4 million print readers per week, and holds heritage titles including Berrow's Worcester Journal, first published in 1690 and recognized as the oldest surviving newspaper in the world.
The company's product portfolio operates across three integrated layers: (1) core publishing of news brands, magazines, and specialist media; (2) digital marketing services for SMEs under the LOCALiQ brand, underpinned by the modular ReachEdge SaaS suite (directory listings across 500+ directories, reputation management, AI live chat, Webcard pages, +Site websites, phone tracking with call recording, and programmatic advertising integration); and (3) specialist vertical platforms including s1jobs and the jobs24 network (regional job portals), Exchange & Mart (classifieds), Newsquest Contract Print (external printing services), Zoom In Leaflet Solutions (direct mail), Newsquest Specialist Media, and the Public Notice Portal. AI capabilities are embedded across the stack: NLP-based CV parsing (Textkernel), an award-winning AI-Assisted Reporter tool for newsrooms, generative AI ad creative (EKCS Mediaferry), AI live chat, recommendation engines, and predictive call analytics.
Newsquest's revenue model is multi-stream: print and digital advertising is the primary revenue driver across the local news portfolio, supplemented by digital subscriptions, job listing transaction fees (s1jobs, jobs24), managed services revenue from LOCALiQ digital marketing for SMEs, professional services revenue from contract printing, and affiliate referral commissions (primarily via Skimlinks). Go-to-market is predominantly sales-led with dedicated field sales teams for enterprise advertisers and a Sales Academy training pipeline, plus a digital marketing consultancy motion targeting SMEs. Customers span individual readers, local advertisers, SMEs using the LOCALiQ/ReachEdge stack, employers and job seekers on the recruitment platforms, and contract printing clients. The company is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Gannett Co., Inc. and does not publicly disclose standalone revenue.
Newsquest firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Newsquest
- Legal name
- Newsquest Media Group Limited
- Website
- https://newsquest.co.uk
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 1996
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 1,001–5,000 employees
- Short description
- Newsquest Media Group is the UK’s second largest regional newspaper publisher, operating 250+ local news brands and magazines reaching 50 million monthly digital visitors and 4 million weekly print readers. It is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Gannett Co., Inc., and generates revenue primarily from advertising, with additional streams from LOCALiQ/ReachEdge SME digital marketing SaaS, job platforms, subscriptions, and contract printing.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Newsquest industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Regional Newspaper Publishing
- NAICS
- Newspaper Publishers (51311), Periodical Publishers (513120)
- SIC
- Newspapers: Publishing Or Publishing & Printing (2711), Periodicals: Publishing Or Publishing & Printing (2721), Commercial Printing (2750)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Local & Regional Newspapers (Print & Digital) (MPAJADAB)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- News, Politics & Current Affairs Magazines (MPAJAEAO), Magazine & Newspaper Subscriptions / Delivery Retail (CRALAAAH)
Keywords
Where Newsquest is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- London
- HQ country
- United Kingdom
- HQ region
- Europe
Offices5 records
Markets served
Newsquest business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Supply Chain
Revenue model
- Print and Digital Advertising: Newsquest generates primary revenue from advertising across its portfolio of more than 200 local news brands and magazines. This includes display advertising in print newspapers and online properties, with both local and national advertisers.
- Digital Subscriptions: Revenue from digital subscription services for news content, providing readers access to premium online journalism.
- Job Listing Services: Revenue from job websites including s1jobs, jobs24, and regional job portals that connect employers with job seekers.
- LOCALiQ Digital Marketing Services: Digital marketing services for SMEs including online directory listings, reputation management, live chat, website creation, and advertising solutions through the LOCALiQ brand.
- Contract Printing: Newsquest Contract Print provides printing services for external clients beyond its own publications.
- Affiliate Revenue: Commission revenue from affiliate links in editorial content, primarily through the Skimlinks network, generating revenue when readers purchase products through affiliate links.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Subscription | Monthly | ReachEdge Suite subscription with minimum 6-month initial term, auto-renewing monthly |
Go-to-market motion3 records
Distribution channels6 records
Marketing channels7 records
Newsquest product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Newsquest Media Group is the second largest UK regional newspaper publisher, operating a portfolio of 250+ local news brands and magazines reaching 4 million weekly print readers and 50 million monthly digital visitors. The company sells print and digital advertising across these properties and offers LOCALiQ/ReachEdge digital marketing services (online directories, reputation management, live chat, websites, phone tracking) to UK SMEs, alongside job websites (s1jobs, jobs24), classifieds (Exchange & Mart), specialist media, contract printing, and leaflet distribution.
Product overview
Newsquest Media Group is the UK's leading local news publisher operating a multi-brand portfolio of over 200 regional newspapers and magazines in print and online, generating 50 million digital visitors monthly and reaching 4 million weekly print readers. The product portfolio comprises three integrated layers: (1) Core Publishing: News Brands and Magazines delivering trusted local journalism; (2) Digital Marketing Platforms: LOCALiQ as the primary SMB marketing services brand, complemented by ReachEdge—a modular SaaS suite bundling online directory listings (500+ directories), reputation management, programmatic advertising, AI-powered live chat, Webcard landing pages, custom websites (+Site), and phone tracking with call analytics; and (3) Specialist Vertical Platforms: job search sites (s1jobs, jobs24 network), Exchange & Mart classifieds, Newsquest Specialist Media, Zoom In Leaflet Solutions, and Newsquest Contract Print. The Public Notice Portal adds a government-mandated consultation and archive service to the ecosystem.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- LOCALiQ: Digital marketing services for SMEs
- s1jobs
- Exchange & Mart
- Newsquest Specialist Media
- Newsquest Contract Print
- Zoom In Leaflet Solutions
Products and services
- News Brands
Quantifiable outcome
- 50 million monthly digital visitors
- +2 more outcomes
Companies that use Newsquest
Customer profileNamed customers4 records
Segments4 records
Ideal customer profiles5 records
Newsquest technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration15 records
AI capability14 records
Feature4 records
Newsquest partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Four partnerships are on record, tiered core.
- Web.comcoreThird-party service provider for online directory listings, reputation management, and Webcard services within the ReachEdge suite. Web.com provides the underlying technology for LOCALiQ digital marketing services.
- TextkernelcoreProvides AI-powered CV parsing services (smart parsing) for the job websites' CV database, enabling automatic matching of job seekers with relevant employment opportunities.
- EKCS / Mediaferry AIcorePartner providing Smart Design AI technology for ad creation and proofing, automating tasks and ensuring brand consistency in creative workflows.
- Gannett Co. Inc.coreParent company listed on New York Stock Exchange. Newsquest was acquired by USA TODAY Co. (now Gannett) in July 1999. Gannett operates USA Today and other media properties globally.
Scale indicators6 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights6 records
Newsquest competitors and assessment
Company assessmentOthers
- Newsquest Media Group Ltd:
Broad incumbents
- Gannett Co., Inc. Newsquest's NYSE-listed parent company and the largest US newspaper publisher (USA Today network). Closely related through ownership and shared ad-tech/content strategies, but operates primarily in the US market.
- Guardian Media Group: Owner of The Guardian and The Observer, operating as a major UK national digital-first news brand. Overlaps with Newsquest in UK news publishing and digital advertising, but is a national outlet rather than a regional group.
- DMGT (Daily Mail and General Trust): UK-based media conglomerate owning the Daily Mail, MailOnline, Metro, and i newspaper, plus B2B information businesses. Competes with Newsquest in UK national/regional news advertising and audience, but at much larger scale and with a different mix.
Direct peers
- Tindle Newspapers: UK family-owned regional newspaper group operating local titles across England, Wales, the Channel Islands, and Isle of Man. Similar regional publishing model and audience to Newsquest at smaller scale.
- Reach plc: The UK's largest regional and national newspaper publisher (Mirror, Express, Star, Manchester Evening News, etc.). Direct competitor to Newsquest in regional UK print and digital publishing, sharing the same customer base of local advertisers and readers.
- National World plc: UK regional news publisher (formerly JPI Media) operating titles including The Scotsman, Yorkshire Post, and Irish News. Directly comparable to Newsquest as a regional multi-title publisher with overlapping geographic and audience footprints.
- Iliffe Media: Independent UK family-owned regional newspaper publisher with titles across the Midlands and East of England. Comparable as a UK-focused regional news operator competing in overlapping geographies with Newsquest titles.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
Newsquest social profiles
Digital presenceNewsquest compliance and trust
Trust signalCompliance5 records
Newsquest financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Newsquest leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles10 records
Newsquest subsidiaries and ownership
Company hierarchySubsidiaries11 records
Newsquest funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Newsquest M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A4 records
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Newsquest
What does Newsquest do?
Newsquest Media Group is the second largest UK regional newspaper publisher, operating a portfolio of 250+ local news brands and magazines reaching 4 million weekly print readers and 50 million monthly digital visitors. The company sells print and digital advertising across these properties and offers LOCALiQ/ReachEdge digital marketing services (online directories, reputation management, live chat, websites, phone tracking) to UK SMEs, alongside job websites (s1jobs, jobs24), classifieds (Exchange & Mart), specialist media, contract printing, and leaflet distribution.
Is Newsquest a public or private company?
Newsquest is a private company. It is classified as corporate owned and is currently operating.
When was Newsquest founded?
Newsquest was founded in 1996. It employs 1,001 to 5,000 people.
Where is Newsquest based?
Newsquest is headquartered in London, United Kingdom, in the Europe region.
How does Newsquest make money?
Six revenue lines are on record. Print and Digital Advertising is the primary driver. The others are digital Subscriptions, job Listing Services, LOCALiQ Digital Marketing Services, contract Printing and affiliate Revenue.
Who are Newsquest's main competitors?
Newsquest Media Group Ltd is listed as an others. Broad incumbents are Gannett Co., Inc., Guardian Media Group and DMGT (Daily Mail and General Trust). Direct peers are Tindle Newspapers, Reach plc, National World plc and Iliffe Media.
Does Newsquest have an API?
No public API is recorded for Newsquest.
What industry is Newsquest in?
Newsquest's product category is Regional Newspaper Publishing. Its primary akta.pro industry code is MPAJADAB, Local & Regional Newspapers (Print & Digital), with a secondary code of MPAJAEAO, News, Politics & Current Affairs Magazines. Its NAICS code is 51311 and its SIC code is 2711.