ELBA\REC

What ELBA\REC does

ELBA\REC is a Dutch B2B media and communication agency focused on the 'physical living environment' (fysieke leefomgeving), covering real estate, urban development, spatial planning, green infrastructure, and public space. The company is headquartered in Amersfoort, Netherlands, operates with 11-50 employees, and was founded approximately in the 1980s. It serves professionals from the private sector to government, including municipalities, provinces, water boards, developers, advisors, and foundations active in the built environment.

The company's offering combines a portfolio of five owned trade media channels (Groen, 70+ years; ROmagazine, 40+ years; BT Magazine; Stedelijk Interieur; and Stadszaken.nl, the largest independent Dutch news site on the physical living environment with nearly 10,000 weekly visitors) with a full-service communications agency. Agency services include real estate communication, communication management, creative design, content marketing and PR, cross-media specials, TV production from an in-house studio operational since 2020, European study trips, event organization, and programmabureau services for foundations and alliances. Underlying the operation is a proprietary database of more than 100,000 industry professionals used for targeted outreach and event recruitment.

Revenue is generated through a mix of low-priced annual digital subscriptions (EUR 107.98-249.00 per title), project-based communication and event services, and recurring programmabureau mandates for foundations such as Stichting Steenbreek, SKBN, Kennislab voor Urbanisme, and Future City Foundation. The go-to-market is event-driven and community-led, leveraging the owned media channels as both products and demand-generation assets, supported by direct sales to enterprise and government clients including JLL, Heijmans, MVGM, Kadaster, NGinfra, and several Dutch municipalities and provinces.

Name

ELBA\REC

Legal name

ELBA\REC

Website

https://elba-rec.nl

Company type

Private

Founded year

2004

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

ELBA\REC is a Dutch B2B media and communications agency serving professionals in the built environment, combining five heritage trade publications (Groen, ROmagazine, BT Magazine, Stedelijk Interieur, Stadszaken.nl) with communication, event, TV production, and programmabureau services for government, developers, and sector foundations.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

B2B media and communications for the physical living environment

NAICS

Advertising Agencies (541810), Public Relations Agencies (54182), Newspaper, Periodical, Book, and Directory Publishers (5131), Advertising, Public Relations, and Related Services (5418)

SIC

Services-Advertising Agencies (7311)

akta.pro primary industry

Food, Cooking & Beverage Magazines (MPAJAEAF)

akta.pro secondary industries

Technology & B2B PR (MPAAADAC), B2B/ABM Creative Agencies (MPAAAAAI)

Keywords

• Trade media publishing
• B2B communication services
• Event organization
• TV production studio
• Urban development media

Headquarters

HQ city

Amersfoort

HQ country

Netherlands

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Communication Services: Professional communication services including real estate communication, communication management, creative design, content marketing, PR, and media specials for clients in the built environment sector.
2. Event Organization: Organization of events including congresses, masterclasses, seminars, and awards ceremonies. Services include program development, speaker recruitment, and event execution.
3. Media Subscriptions: Annual digital subscriptions for professional publications including ROmagazine, BT Magazine, Groen, and Stedelijk Interieur. Subscription prices range from €107.98 to €249.00 per year.
4. Study Trips: Organization of multi-day study trips to European cities focusing on sustainability, economy, urban development, architecture, and culture for representatives of local and regional governments and companies.
5. Programmabureau Services: Program office services for foundations, associations, programs, and projects including annual planning, daily execution, knowledge development, and PR & communication support.
6. TV Production: Television and online video production services including format development, script writing, and complete production from their own studio facility.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

ELBA\REC operates a portfolio of B2B trade media channels (magazines and websites) covering real estate, urban development, spatial planning, and green infrastructure, and provides integrated communication services — including real estate communication, content marketing, creative design, media specials, TV production from its own studio, study trips, events, and program bureau work — for clients from the private sector, government, and foundations.

Product overview

ELBA\REC is a Dutch media and communication company focused on the physical living environment, offering a portfolio of professional media channels (trade publications and websites) combined with communication services. The core media channels include five products: Groen (green in city/landscape magazine, 70+ years), BT Magazine (business locations/regional innovation), Stedelijk Interieur (healthy public space), ROmagazine (spatial planning, 40+ years), and Stadszaken.nl (largest independent news website with ~10,000 weekly visitors). Supporting services include real estate communication, communication management, creative design, content marketing & PR, media specials, TV productions (from their own studio in a former church), study trips to European cities, program bureau services, and event organization (masterclasses, congresses, seminars, awards). The company serves professionals from private sector to government with a database of over 100,000 industry professionals.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Groen: Knowledge platform and trade magazine in the world of green in city and landscape, over 70 years of publication history.
• BT Magazine
• Stedelijk Interieur
• ROmagazine
• Stadszaken.nl

Products and services

• Groen Knowledge platform and trade magazine for green infrastructure in city and landscape; published for over 70 years and connecting professionals in the physical living environment.
• BT Magazine Trade magazine for professionals working on business locations, regional innovation, and business climate; published quarterly with in-depth articles.
• Stedelijk Interieur Platform for professionals involved in creating a healthy public space, focused on policy, design, and implementation professionals.
• ROmagazine Leading journal for RO (spatial planning) professionals for over 40 years, providing deep insights into complex spatial planning topics.
• Stadszaken.nl Largest independent website with daily news about the physical living environment, reaching nearly 10,000 weekly visitors with strong background stories.
• Vastgoedcommunicatie (Real Estate Communication) Real estate communication services that add value from vision formation through to stakeholder engagement and consumer communication in property development projects.
• Communicatiemanagement (Communication Management) Communication management service for organizations, area developments, real estate projects, or concepts, including the detachment of communication professionals.
• Creatieve vormgeving (Creative Design) Creative design service producing creative concepts and a wide range of online and offline communication materials for clients.
• Contentmarketing & PR Content marketing and PR service that drives targeted topic promotion to specific audiences, regularly creating cross-media specials with clients.
• Mediaspecials Cross-media special productions created in collaboration with clients for targeted communication campaigns.
• TV-producties (TV Productions) Television and online video production services including format development, script writing, and full production from the company's own TV studio, with formats for live broadcasts, recorded productions, interactive debates, and webinars.
• Studiereizen (Study Trips) Multi-day study trips to European cities focusing on sustainability, economy, urban development, architecture, and culture for representatives of local and regional governments and companies.
• Programmabureau (Program Bureau Services) Program bureau services for foundations, associations, programs, and projects including annual planning, daily execution, knowledge development, and PR & communication.
• Events Event organization including masterclasses, congresses, seminars, and awards, both digital and on-location, organized on behalf of partners and for ELBA\REC's own titles.
• Mediakanalen (Media Channels Service) Editorial and management service for ELBA\REC's owned media channels, providing current and independent content across ROmagazine, Groen, BT Magazine, Stedelijk Interieur, and Stadszaken.nl.

Quantifiable outcome

• Nearly 10,000 weekly visitors to Stadszaken.nl - largest independent news website about the physical living environment in the Netherlands
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers16 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

17 partnerships are on record, tiered core, major and minor.

• SKBN (Stichting Kennisalliantie Bedrijventerreinen Nederland)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerELBA\REC serves as programmabureau for SKBN and co-organizes the annual BT Event. SKBN is the national knowledge alliance for development of future-proof business sites and work locations.
• Stichting SteenbreekcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerELBA\REC is the programmabureau for Steenbreek, setting up the complete annual program including PR & communication, knowledge development programs, and member activities.
• Kennislab voor UrbanismecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerELBA\REC serves as the programmabureau for the Knowledge Lab for Urbanism.
• Future City FoundationcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerELBA\REC serves as the programmabureau for the Future City Foundation.
• Economic Board Utrecht (EBU)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerInitiator of the Digital Twin Netwerkexcursie to Antwerp, organized by ELBA\REC for EBU members including municipal and provincial leadership.
• NGinframajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerELBA\REC produced TV content for NGinfra including the 'Verbond van de Brede Welvaart' program featuring executives from Gasunie, MVO Nederland, Stedin Groep, and ProRail.
• Gemeente AmersfoortmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerMunicipal government partner featured in their network, indicating ongoing communication service relationship.
• Gemeente AlmeremajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerMunicipal government partner featured in their client network.
• Gemeente BarneveldminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerMunicipal government partner.
• Gemeente NijkerkminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerMunicipal government partner.
• Provincie GelderlandmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerProvincial government partner.
• Provincie DrentheminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerProvincial government partner.
• JLL (Jones Lang LaSalle)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerGlobal real estate advisory firm featured as client/partner.
• HeijmansminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerConstruction and development company featured as client/partner.
• KadasterminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerDutch land registry organization featured as client/partner.
• Waterschap Vallei en VeluweminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerWater management board partner.
• TwynstraGuddeminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerConsultancy firm, co-organized study trip on successful campuses.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Emerging players

• Studio-DHV: Dutch consultancy with a creative/communication arm focused on infrastructure, mobility, and built-environment clients. Partial overlap with ELBA\REC's communications services for the same vertical but as part of a broader engineering/consulting practice.
• Adformatie / Talpa Network Media Brands: Dutch B2B advertising, marketing, and media trade titles plus events. Comparable trade-media/events business model targeting a different professional segment (marketers/advertisers instead of built environment).

Direct peers

• NDC Mediagroep: Dutch multi-brand regional and B2B media group combining news media, trade publications, events, and services — comparable multi-revenue-stack model, though with stronger regional-news weighting.
• Sdu: Dutch publisher of government and legal information products plus B2B trade content, with associated services for public-sector clients. Comparable vertical overlap (built environment, public sector, professional information).
• Springer Media (Bohn Stafleu van Loghum): Dutch arm of Springer specializing in professional/B2B publishing for healthcare, legal, and built-environment professionals — same business model of verticalized trade magazines + content + events serving professional audiences in the Netherlands.
• Emerce: Dutch B2B media brand for marketing, e-commerce, and digital professionals — same trade-media + events model serving a different (but structurally similar) professional vertical. Useful for benchmarking go-to-market in Dutch B2B media.
• Vakmedianet: Operates a portfolio of Dutch B2B trade magazines (Cobouw, De Architect, etc.) in the built environment and adjacent verticals — directly comparable portfolio of trade titles serving professionals, complemented by events and content services.
• Bex*communicatie: Dutch communications agency specialized in built environment, real estate, and infrastructure clients. Direct overlap with ELBA\REC's real-estate-communication and stakeholder-management service lines.

Broad incumbents

• Wolters Kluwer (Netherlands): Larger Dutch-rooted professional information services publisher spanning legal, tax, and regulated-industry verticals. Operates in the same B2B information-services space but at much greater scale and broader vertical coverage.
• Fabrique (design agency): Larger Dutch design and brand strategy agency working with public-sector and built-environment clients. Overlaps in the creative-design portion of ELBA\REC's service stack but at broader portfolio scale.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/elba-media

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

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 ELBA\REC