William Reed Business Media

What William Reed Business Media does

William Reed Business Media is a privately held, family-owned B2B media company founded in 1862 (the firm's own history cites 1866) and headquartered in Crawley, West Sussex, with additional offices in London, Brighton, Montpellier, Chicago, and Singapore. The company operates a portfolio of more than 90 brands serving the global food and drink ecosystem, spanning trade publications such as The Grocer, FoodNavigator, Retail Week, The Morning Advertiser, and Food Manufacture; intelligence and research services under Lumina Intelligence; over 70 annual events and exhibitions including the Food & Drink Expo, National Convenience Show, and The London Coffee Festival (acquired from Allegra Group in August 2022); and prestigious awards programmes including the World's 50 Best Restaurants, World's Best Vineyards, the Publican Awards, and the World Steak Challenge. The combined audience exceeds 3 million monthly global readers across digital, print, and live channels. The group is structured through wholly-owned UK, French, Singaporean, and US entities, including the acquired Rethink Events subsidiary.

The company's revenue model blends recurring subscription income from Lumina Intelligence research and digital media, one-time fees from event attendance and exhibition bookings, sponsorship and advertising across owned brands, and fees from awards ceremonies and competitions. Go-to-market is sales-led and event-driven, with quote-based B2B pricing for enterprise customers and direct sales teams handling sponsorship, advertising, and research subscriptions. Customer segments include food and drink manufacturers, retail and grocery operators, hospitality and restaurants, and broader manufacturing and supply chain businesses; named enterprise customers include Coca-Cola Europacific Partners GB, Pernod Ricard, and the Association of Convenience Stores. Technology infrastructure consists of a digital publishing platform and AI-powered workflow tools branded "Human-centred AI," which has been deployed across editorial, commercial, and marketing functions and recognised with consecutive PPA Awards for Best Use of AI (2025, 2026) and the AOP Publishing Business Effectiveness Award in 2026.

In 2026 William Reed has undertaken a notable governance refresh, appointing Richard Sexton as Chief Operating Officer (January 2026), Lucinda Pullinger as Chief People Officer (May 2026), Laura Hagan and John Gittins as Non-Executive Directors (June 2026), and Holly Widdowson, a sixth-generation Reed family member, as Chair. The leadership explicitly references a "Food for Growth Strategy" and an international growth journey, indicating an organisational posture of disciplined expansion rather than restructuring.

Name

William Reed Business Media

Legal name

William Reed Ltd

Website

https://william-reed.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1866

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

251–500 employees

Short description

William Reed Business Media is a privately held, family-owned B2B media company operating 90+ brands, 70+ events and awards, and the Lumina Intelligence research service to serve the global food and drink ecosystem through trade publications, live events, awards, and recurring data subscriptions.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

B2B Trade Media and Industry Intelligence

NAICS

Newspaper, Periodical, Book, and Directory Publishers (5131)

SIC

Periodicals: Publishing Or Publishing & Printing (2721)

akta.pro primary industry

Business, Finance & Industry Trade Magazines (MPAJAEAM)

akta.pro secondary industry

Food, Cooking & Beverage Magazines (MPAJAEAF)

Keywords

• B2B trade media
• Food industry publications
• Industry events and awards
• Market intelligence research
• Trade publishing services

Headquarters

HQ city

Crawley

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices6 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Digital Commerce or Content

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Others

Revenue model

1. Digital Media & Publishing: Revenue from digital media subscriptions, digital advertising, and content across 90+ brands including The Grocer, FoodNavigator, RetailWeek, and other trade publications serving the food and drink industry.
2. Events & Exhibitions: Revenue from exhibition space bookings, event attendance fees, and event-related services across 70+ annual events including Food & Drink Expo, National Convenience Show, and The London Coffee Festival.
3. Sponsorship & Advertising: Revenue from sponsorship rights for events, awards, and publications. Corporate sponsors pay fees for branding, marketing rights, and access to audiences at events and through publications.
4. Lumina Intelligence Research Services: Subscription-based intelligence services for nutrition and retail & hospitality sectors, providing research data, reports, and analytics to subscribers.
5. Awards & Recognition: Revenue from prestigious industry awards ceremonies including World Restaurant Awards, World Wine Symposium, and World Steak Challenge.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

William Reed is a B2B media business that publishes 90+ trade titles (including The Grocer, FoodNavigator, Retail Week, The Morning Advertiser, and Food Manufacture), runs 70+ annual events and award programmes (such as The World's 50 Best, World's Best Vineyards, The Publican Awards, Food & Drink Expo, and The London Coffee Festival), and sells subscription-based market intelligence through Lumina Intelligence, serving the global food and drink ecosystem.

Product overview

William Reed Business Media operates a diverse portfolio of trusted B2B media brands serving the global food and drink ecosystem. The company offers a multi-brand platform consisting of digital media publications (including The Grocer, FoodNavigator, Retail Week, The Morning Advertiser, and Food Manufacture), prestigious awards programmes (The World's 50 Best, World's Best Vineyards, The Publican Awards), and intelligence/research services under the Lumina Intelligence brand covering nutrition, retail, and hospitality sectors. The portfolio also includes Rethink Events (agtech summits), and the company expanded into the coffee sector through acquisition of The London Coffee Festival and the Coffee Masters competition. With 90+ brands, 70+ events and awards, and over 3 million monthly global readers, the company delivers information through digital media, insights, events, and print to audiences across food, drink, retail, grocery, manufacturing, and hospitality sectors.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• The Grocer: Food retail industry publication
• FoodNavigator
• The World's 50 Best
• Lumina Intelligence
• AgriTech
• The Morning Advertiser
• Retail Week
• NI (New Internationalist)
• Rethink Events
• MCA (Marketing Week)
• Food Manufacture
• The Publican Awards
• World's Best Vineyards
• Forecourt Trader
• British Baker

Products and services

• The Grocer A leading UK trade magazine and digital platform providing news, analysis, and insights for the grocery sector, used by retailers, suppliers, and category buyers.
• FoodNavigator A digital platform covering food industry news, innovation, and regulatory developments for the global food and drink sector.
• The World's 50 Best Prestigious awards programme recognising the world's best restaurants, bars, and hotels, with associated events and ceremonies.
• Lumina Intelligence Subscription-based intelligence and research services providing data, insights, and analytics for the nutrition, retail, and hospitality sectors, available as Nutrition and Retail & Hospitality modules.
• Rethink Events Agricultural and food technology-focused events and innovation summits, including the World Agri-Tech Innovation Summit.
• The Morning Advertiser Trade publication serving the UK pub and hospitality sector with news, analysis, and the Publican Awards.
• Retail Week UK retail industry publication providing news, insights, and awards for retail professionals.
• World's Best Vineyards Global awards programme ranking the world's best vineyard wine tourism experiences.
• Food Manufacture Trade publication for the food and drink manufacturing industry covering production, supply chain, and regulatory issues.
• The Publican Awards Prestigious awards ceremony for the UK pub and hospitality industry, part of the Morning Advertiser portfolio.
• The London Coffee Festival Annual coffee festival held at the Truman Brewery on Brick Lane, featuring exhibitions, competitions, and industry networking.
• Coffee Masters Professional coffee competition and championship associated with The London Coffee Festival.
• Food & Drink Expo Flagship annual trade exhibition for the UK food and drink industry, attracting manufacturers, retailers, and hospitality buyers.
• National Convenience Show Annual exhibition dedicated to the UK convenience retail sector.
• Farm Shop & Deli Show Annual trade show for farm shop, deli, and speciality food retailers.
• World Steak Challenge Global awards programme recognising the best steak restaurants and producers worldwide.

Quantifiable outcome

• Digital Publisher of the Year (PPA Awards) won for second consecutive year
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability2 records

Feature2 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Allegra GroupminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 4 August 2022William Reed acquired The London Coffee Festival from Allegra Group in August 2022. The acquisition aimed to develop the festival and Coffee Masters competition further, with the event remaining at its current location at the Truman Brewery on Brick Lane.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Informa plc: Global B2B events, publishing, and intelligence group operating in food, hospitality, and retail adjacencies (e.g., through its B2B events portfolio). Closest large-cap comparability on the events + subscriptions model at much greater scale.
• RELX (Reed Elsevier): Information-based analytics and B2B publishing group; provides a benchmark for how a B2B information business can scale data and subscriptions into a multi-billion enterprise. Comparable in monetization model (subscriptions + events + research), though much broader sectorally.
• Bonnier Group: Family-owned Nordic media conglomerate with significant B2B trade publishing and events operations. Comparable as a large, family-controlled multi-brand B2B media business with international footprint.

Direct peers

• Ascential plc: B2B events-led information and intelligence group (formerly EMAP) with comparable portfolio mix of trade events, data products, and brand-led media. Closest mid-cap structural analogue to William Reed's events + intelligence combination.
• Haymarket Media Group: Privately-held global B2B and consumer media company with trade brands, events, and awards across multiple verticals. Closely comparable as a privately-owned multi-brand B2B media business with a similar awards and events portfolio strategy.
• Future plc: UK-listed multi-brand B2B and consumer media group that has scaled through brand acquisitions and digital monetization. Comparable on the multi-brand portfolio, digital-first strategy, and audience-reach monetization.
• Mark Allen Group: Privately-held UK B2B media company operating trade magazines, events, and digital platforms across multiple sectors including food and hospitality. Highly comparable mid-market UK trade media peer with similar brand-and-events structure.
• Tarsus Group: International B2B events and media group with strong presence in food, drink, and packaging-adjacent exhibitions. Direct comparable on the events-led B2B media model serving similar customer verticals.
• Clarion Events: Privately-owned global events group running large trade exhibitions across food, drink, retail, and hospitality. Closely comparable on the exhibitions-plus-awards format serving the same end markets.

Emerging players

• Meltwater (B2B media intelligence): Media intelligence and data analytics platform serving enterprise customers including food and drink brands. Comparable as an alternative provider of B2B intelligence/research to William Reed's Lumina Intelligence, with a more software-native model.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles6 records

Subsidiaries5 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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

M&A1 record

Investments

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

Frequently asked questions about William Reed Business Media