CN Group

What CN Group does

Note on company identity: the input data is labelled "CN Group" but contains no CN Group-specific facts. The substantive evidence describes Newsquest Media Group, a UK-based private local media company; this description is drawn from that evidence.

Newsquest Media Group operates as the UK's leading local media company, holding a portfolio of 250+ local news brands and magazines distributed across the country. The company serves two distinct customer segments: local communities and readers seeking trusted local journalism, and local businesses/SMEs requiring digital marketing services to reach local audiences. Operations are headquartered in London (4th Floor, Queens House, 55/56 Lincoln's Inn Fields) with a registered office in Bournemouth (The Echo Building, 18 Albert Road).

The product portfolio spans core editorial offerings (News Brands and Magazines, with editors retaining complete editorial independence) and commercial services. LOCALiQ is the company's digital marketing services platform for SMEs, providing data-driven marketing solutions. Ancillary sub-brands include job boards (s1 jobs and Jobs24), classified advertising (Exchange and Mart), leaflet and direct mail marketing (Zoom-In Leaflet Solutions), Newsquest Contract Print (commercial printing), and Newsquest Specialist Media. Distribution reaches 50 million digital visitors per month and 4 million weekly print readers across owned news properties.

The business model is hybrid and revenue mechanics span multiple streams: print and digital advertising across owned news brands (B2C/consumer-facing, ad-supported), paid digital marketing services (LOCALiQ, B2B SME), recruitment advertising (s1 jobs, Jobs24), classifieds (Exchange and Mart), direct mail and leaflet marketing (Zoom-In), and B2B contract printing. Pricing is not publicly disclosed. The underlying technology stack is conventional editorial publishing infrastructure with no proprietary AI/ML platform disclosed; the recruitment of an Editorial AI Specialist in May 2026 signals nascent interest in AI-enabled newsroom workflows rather than a productised AI offering.

Name

CN Group

Website

https://cngroup.co.uk

Company type

Private

Founded year

1815

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

251–500 employees

Short description

The source data labelled CN Group contains no CN Group-specific facts; the available evidence describes Newsquest Media Group, a UK private local media company operating 250+ news brands, magazines, and digital marketing services (LOCALiQ) for SMEs and local readers.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Local News Media

NAICS

Newspaper Publishers (51311), Newspaper Publishers (513110), Periodical Publishers (513120), Advertising Agencies (541810), Advertising, Public Relations, and Related Services (5418)

SIC

Newspapers: Publishing Or Publishing & Printing (2711), Periodicals: Publishing Or Publishing & Printing (2721), Services-Advertising (7310), Miscellaneous Publishing (2741), Services-Direct Mail Advertising Services (7331)

akta.pro primary industry

Local & Regional Newspapers (Print & Digital) (MPAJADAB)

akta.pro secondary industries

Consumer News & Digital Newsrooms (Web/App-First) (MPAJADAD), National & General-Interest Newspapers (Print & Digital) (MPAJADAA)

Keywords

• Local news media
• Digital marketing services
• Newspaper publishing
• Classified advertising
• Commercial printing

Headquarters

HQ city

Carlisle

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels2 records

Core offering

CN Group operates a multi-brand portfolio of local news brands and magazines alongside digital marketing services. The core offering consists of 250+ local news brands and magazines serving communities with trusted journalism, reaching 50 million digital visitors per month and 4 million print readers weekly. Supporting this is LOCALiQ, the company's digital marketing services platform for SMEs, along with sub-brands including job boards, classified advertising, leaflet solutions, and commercial printing services.

Product overview

Newsquest Media Group operates a multi-brand portfolio of local newspaper and magazine publications alongside digital marketing services. The core offering consists of 250+ local news brands and magazines serving communities with trusted journalism, reaching 50 million digital visitors per month and 4 million print readers weekly. Supporting this is LOCALiQ, the company's digital marketing services platform for SMEs. Additional sub-brands include job boards (s1 jobs, Jobs24), classified advertising (Exchange and Mart), leaflet solutions (Zoom-In Leaflet Solutions), contract printing services, and specialist media publications. The portfolio is held together by professional journalists with editorial independence and digital marketing consultants helping local businesses reach audiences.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• News Brands 250+ local newspaper brands providing trusted local journalism with complete editorial independence, serving communities throughout the UK and reaching 50 million digital visitors per month and 4 million print readers per week.
• Magazines Magazine publications covering various lifestyle and local interest topics, serving UK communities alongside the company's news brands.
• LOCALiQ Digital marketing services platform for SMEs, providing data-driven marketing solutions to help local businesses grow through simplified local marketing and data-driven decisions.
• s1 jobs Online job board platform serving job seekers and employers across the UK.
• Jobs24 Online job board platform serving job seekers and employers across the UK.
• Exchange and Mart Classified advertising marketplace platform.
• Zoom-In Leaflet Solutions Leaflet and direct mail marketing solutions provider.
• Newsquest Contract Print Commercial printing services offered by the group.
• Newsquest Specialist Media Specialized media publications covering specific industries or topics.

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves4 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• JPI Media: JPI Media is a UK regional newspaper publisher operating titles such as The Yorkshire Post, The Scotsman, and various local weeklies. Closely comparable to Newsquest's portfolio of UK regional dailies and weeklies serving local communities with print and digital channels.
• Reach plc: Reach plc (formerly Trinity Mirror) is the UK's largest newspaper publisher, operating national and major regional titles including the Daily Mirror, Daily Express, Manchester Evening News and Birmingham Mail. Directly comparable to Newsquest as a UK-focused multi-title regional and national news publisher monetising advertising, print circulation, and digital.
• National World plc: National World plc is a UK regional and national news publisher that acquired regional titles previously owned by JPI Media and Archant. Directly comparable to Newsquest in operating a multi-brand portfolio of UK regional news brands with both print and digital distribution.
• Iliffe News & Media: Iliffe News & Media is a UK regional newspaper group publishing titles such as the Cambridge Independent and Birmingham Post. Directly comparable as another UK regional news publisher with a multi-title, multi-region portfolio serving local communities.

Broad incumbents

• Guardian Media Group: Guardian Media Group operates The Guardian and The Observer, with significant UK digital news reach and reader-funded model. Comparable as a UK incumbent news organisation competing for the same UK national and regional digital audiences and advertising pools.
• DMGT: DMGT (Daily Mail and General Trust) is a UK-based portfolio media company that owns the Daily Mail, MailOnline, i newspaper, and other regional and B2B titles. Comparable as a larger UK incumbent with overlapping print and digital news assets and diversified media revenue.
• Gannett Co., Inc. Gannett is the largest US newspaper publisher (USA TODAY and hundreds of community titles) and is the reported owner of Newsquest Media Group. Comparable as a global incumbent in the same regional/community news publishing model and a benchmark for how scale-plus-digital strategies play out.
• Lee Enterprises: Lee Enterprises is a US-based large-scale operator of daily and weekly community newspapers with a digital subscription and services model. Comparable to Newsquest in operating a vast portfolio of local/regional titles with shared services, digital subscriptions, and SME marketing offerings.
• Tribune Publishing (Chicago Tribune / Tribune Media): Tribune Publishing is a US regional newspaper group (Chicago Tribune, New York Daily News, etc.). Comparable as another multi-title metropolitan and regional newspaper publisher navigating the print-to-digital transition in local news.

Emerging players

• Midland News Association: Midland News Association is a smaller, family-owned UK regional publisher (e.g., Express & Star, Shropshire Star). Comparable as a UK regional newspaper peer in the same local-news publishing category, though operating at materially smaller scale than Newsquest.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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

M&A

Investments

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

Frequently asked questions about CN Group