What Place North West does

Place North West is a B2B media company covering the property and built environment sector across North West England. Founded in 2007 by journalist Paul Unger and headquartered at Parsonage Chambers in Manchester city centre, the company publishes a daily digital news service and email newsletter reaching 13,000+ property professionals across Greater Manchester, Liverpool, Cheshire, Lancashire, Merseyside, North Wales, and Cumbria. Coverage spans development, housing, infrastructure, regeneration, planning, and commercial property, supported by analysis, podcasts (including the 'Scheming' interview series), video content, and a sector-specific jobs board.

The company's product portfolio extends beyond news into a substantial events business, including regional development update conferences (Greater Manchester, South Yorkshire), sector-specific events (Energy & Power, Industrial & Logistics, Life Sciences, Place RESI), and the flagship annual Place Party at the AO Arena Manchester. Place North West also operates dedicated coverage and delegation services for MIPIM (Cannes) and UKREiiF (Leeds), and is part of the broader Place Media Group alongside sister titles Place North East, Place Yorkshire, and Place Midlands.

Revenue is generated through three streams: display advertising and sponsored content on the digital platform, event ticket sales and corporate sponsorships, and job listing fees on the property and construction jobs board. The company employs 101-250 staff under a senior team led by founder Paul Unger (Publisher), Julia Hatmaker (Editor), Dino Moutsopoulos (Managing Partner, Head of Commercial), and directors covering commercial partnerships and client services. In 2023, Place North West transitioned to full employee ownership, an unusual structural choice that anchors continuity and gives staff annual profit share in lieu of external equity backing.

Name

Place North West

Legal name

Place North West

Website

https://placenorthwest.co.uk

Company type

Private

Founded year

2007

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

Place North West is a Manchester-based B2B media company serving North West England property professionals via daily news, events, podcasts, video, and a jobs board, reaching 13,000+ subscribers. Employee-owned since 2023.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Trade Media and Events (Property)

akta.pro primary industry

Newsletters & Email-Based News Publishers (B2B/B2C) (MPAJADAJ)

Keywords

• Property news publishing
• B2B media events
• Built environment journalism
• Commercial property conferences
• Regional trade publications

Headquarters

HQ city

Bolton By Bowland

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Digital Commerce or Content

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Advertising and sponsorship: Place North West generates revenue through display advertising on its website, sponsored content, and event sponsorship from property industry companies.
2. Event tickets and sponsorship: The company organises and hosts paid events including conferences, development updates, and the Place Party social event. Revenue comes from ticket sales and event sponsorship from industry partners.
3. Job listings: The platform features a jobs board where companies advertise property and construction vacancies, generating revenue through listing fees.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Place North West is a B2B media company that publishes a regional property news website (placenorthwest.co.uk) with daily news, analysis, and sector coverage, distributes a daily email newsletter to 13,000+ property professionals, and organises paid property conferences, development update events, and networking gatherings (including the flagship Place Party) across the North West of England. Supporting offerings include the 'Scheming' podcast series, video content, a regional property jobs board, and dedicated coverage of the MIPIM and UKREiiF property expos.

Product overview

Place North West is a B2B property news publisher and events company based in Manchester, offering a portfolio of content and event products. The core offering includes the Place North West news publication delivering daily property news, analysis, and sector-specific coverage across the North West of England. Supporting this are events products including regional development update conferences, sector-specific events (Energy & Power, Industrial & Logistics, Life Sciences), and the annual Place Party social event. The portfolio also includes the 'Scheming' podcast series, video content from events and site visits, a jobs board for the built environment sector, and dedicated coverage channels for MIPIM and UKREiiF property expos. The company is employee-owned and serves property professionals across development, construction, planning, architecture, and investment sectors.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Place North West News Publication

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Regeneration BrainerycoreOthersPlace North West partners with Regeneration Brainery, a not-for-profit organisation that addresses the skills gap and need for diversity in the property industry. The partnership works with young people from under-represented backgrounds to encourage careers in the built environment. This aligns with Place North's focus on championing a diverse and more modern built environment.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Place Yorkshire: Direct regional sister publication covering property news and events in Yorkshire. Same brand family and editorial model, serving an adjacent UK property region with the same developer, authority, and investor audience.
• The Business Desk: Subscription-based regional business news platform covering the North West and other UK regions. Comparable audience (senior business and property decision-makers) and similar newsletter-led, events-supported GTM motion.
• Place North East: Direct regional sister publication covering property news and events in the North East of England. Operates an identical model (newsletter, events, jobs board) under the same Place brand, making it the closest peer by structure and audience.
• Place Midlands: Direct regional sister publication covering property news and events in the Midlands. Same brand family, editorial model, and GTM motion; together the three Place regions illustrate how the Place North West playbook scales across UK property markets.

Emerging players

• Construction Enquirer: Digital B2B news platform focused on UK construction and development with a similar newsletter-led model. Targets a partially overlapping audience (developers, contractors, housebuilders) and competes for the same regional advertiser budgets.

Broad incumbents

• Property Week: National B2B property publication owned by Metropolis International, covering the entire UK market including the North West. It is the dominant national incumbent that Place North West explicitly benchmarks against and where its own commercial staff previously worked.
• Estates Gazette: Long-established national B2B property news and data title covering commercial real estate across the UK. Comparable audience (developers, surveyors, investors) but national rather than regional focus, and more heavily oriented to commercial real estate data.
• Insider Media: Regional B2B media group producing titles covering the North West, Yorkshire, Midlands, and other UK regions, with a comparable mix of business news, events, and awards. Operates a similar multi-region digital news and events model targeting senior decision-makers.

Regional players

• Yorkshire Business Insider: Regional B2B title covering business and property in Yorkshire, with a comparable mix of news, analysis, and events. Useful peer for benchmarking how regional UK property media businesses monetise.
• Prolific North: Regional B2B media title covering the North of England's creative, digital, and tech sectors. Adjacent rather than direct overlap on property, but similar audience (North West decision-makers), newsletter-driven model, and events portfolio.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/@PlaceNorthVideos
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/place-north-west
• Instagraminstagram.com/placenorthwest
• Xx.com/PlaceNorthWest

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles13 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 Place North West