The Gazette

What The Gazette does

The Gazette, doing business as The Holderness and Hornsea Gazette, is a privately held local news publication founded in 1910 and operated by Holderness Newspapers Ltd. Headquartered at 1 Seaside Road, Withernsea, East Yorkshire (HU19 2DL), it serves the Holderness and Hornsea coastal communities of East Yorkshire with hyperlocal news and community information. The company operates with a small staff of 11-50 employees and is editorially led by Editor/Director Sam Hawcroft. It is not part of a larger media group and has no disclosed parent, subsidiaries, or external shareholders.

The Gazette's product mix spans print, digital, and local commercial services. Core offerings include a weekly print newspaper, a continuously updated online news portal (built on a WordPress CMS with Google Analytics instrumentation), a digital edition distributed via Pocketmags, a local business directory, a jobs board, a motors classifieds section, a merchandise shop, an events calendar, and a family-notices service. The technology stack is conventional for community publishing — standard CMS, standard analytics, and a third-party digital-edition platform — with no disclosed proprietary technology. Editorial governance sits under the Independent Press Standards Organisation (IPSO), and data handling is compliant with UK GDPR and CCPA frameworks.

The Gazette's revenue model is diversified across reader and advertiser streams: print subscriptions, digital subscriptions via Pocketmags, single-copy print sales, display and classified advertising, business directory listings, jobs postings, and motors/dealer advertising. Customer segments are local readers (B2C) and local small and medium businesses (B2B advertisers and directory/jobs/motors clients), with no enterprise or national-account customers disclosed. The business is self-funded, with no external funding rounds or M&A activity recorded.

Name

The Gazette

Legal name

Holderness Newspapers Ltd

Website

https://holderness-gazette.co.uk

Company type

Private

Founded year

1910

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

The Gazette is a 1910-founded, privately held community newspaper serving the Holderness and Hornsea communities in East Yorkshire, publishing a weekly print edition, an online news portal, a Pocketmags digital edition, and local business directory, jobs, and motors listings.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Local Newspaper Publishing

NAICS

Newspaper Publishers (513110)

SIC

Newspapers: Publishing Or Publishing & Printing (2711)

akta.pro primary industry

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

akta.pro secondary industry

Newsstand & Single-Copy Distribution (MPAJAKAC)

Keywords

• Local newspaper publishing
• Community news media
• Print journalism services
• Newspaper advertising sales
• Digital news subscriptions

Headquarters

HQ city

Withernsea

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Digital Commerce or Content

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Print and Digital Subscriptions: Paid subscriptions for the newspaper including both print editions and digital editions accessible through the Pocketmags platform. Offers online edition access.
2. Advertising: Advertising space sold in the newspaper and on the website. Separate advertisement pricing page exists indicating commercial advertising is a revenue stream.
3. Business Directory: Paid listings in the business directory section of the website, targeting local businesses in the Holderness and Hornsea area.
4. Print Newspaper Sales: Single-copy and bulk sales of the printed newspaper at newsstands and through retail partners.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

The Gazette publishes a weekly local newspaper and accompanying digital content covering news, sport, community events, features, and entertainment for the Holderness and Hornsea area of East Yorkshire. It monetises this content through print and digital subscriptions, advertising, a local business directory, a jobs board, and single-copy newsstand sales. The publication has served its community continuously since 1910.

Product overview

The Holderness and Hornsea Gazette is a traditional local newspaper that has served its community since 1910. The publication operates a single unified offering anchored by its print newspaper, supplemented by a digital news portal at holderness-gazette.co.uk. The product portfolio includes: the core print newspaper (with home delivery subscriptions); a digital edition accessible via Pocketmags; an online news portal with category-based content including news, sport, community news, features, entertainment, and motors; a business directory for local businesses; a jobs board for local employment opportunities; a shop for merchandise; and advertising services for local businesses. The various modules function as complementary channels serving the local community's news, information, and commercial needs.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Print Newspaper Subscription Subscription to the weekly printed edition of The Holderness and Hornsea Gazette, delivered to local residents' homes. Includes local news, sport, community news, features, and entertainment content covering the Holderness and Hornsea area.
• Digital Edition (Pocketmags) Digital replica edition of The Gazette accessible through the Pocketmags platform, allowing readers to read the publication on mobile and tablet devices.
• Advertising Services Advertising space sold to local businesses in both the print newspaper and the website, with a dedicated advertisement-pricing page indicating quote-based commercial advertising packages.
• Business Directory Listings Paid listings in the online business directory section of the website, allowing local businesses in the Holderness and Hornsea area to be discovered by residents.
• Jobs Board Local job listings section featuring employment opportunities in the Holderness and surrounding areas for both job seekers and local employers.
• Online Shop (Merchandise) Online shop selling merchandise and products related to The Gazette publication.

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration1 record

AI capability1 record

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Independent Press Standards Organisation (IPSO)coreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorThe Holderness & Hornsea Gazette is regulated by the Independent Press Standards Organisation (IPSO) and adheres to the Editors' Code of Practice. IPSO is the regulator for the UK press, handling complaints and setting editorial standards that member publications must follow.

Scale indicators1 record

Recent moves3 records

Expansion highlights3 records

Broad incumbents

• Yorkshire Post: Long-established Yorkshire regional newspaper covering broader county news including Holderness-area stories. A larger-scale incumbent with overlapping advertising and subscription relationships with local businesses in The Gazette's market.
• Newsquest Media Group: One of the UK's largest regional publishers, operating hundreds of local newspaper titles. Directly comparable as a strategic acquirer of independent community papers and as a benchmark for digital subscription and directory monetisation in regional press.
• Reach plc: The UK's largest regional news publisher, owner of Hull Daily Mail, Scarborough News, and numerous other regional titles overlapping with The Gazette's geography. A potential acquirer of independent local titles and a benchmark for scaled digital transformation of local print assets.
• Hull Daily Mail: The dominant regional daily newspaper covering the broader East Yorkshire region, including the Holderness and Hornsea catchment. Operated by Reach plc, it competes with The Gazette for local advertising budgets and reader attention but at a much larger geographic and scale footprint.

Direct peers

• Goole Courier: Local newspaper serving Goole and the lower Yorkshire/Humberside region. Similar small-scale local weekly print + digital operation, providing a peer benchmark for advertising yields and subscription pricing.
• Driffield Times: Weekly local newspaper serving Driffield and the southern East Riding of Yorkshire. A small-scale community paper closely comparable in print frequency, digital presence, and revenue model to The Gazette.
• Pocklington Post: Local newspaper serving Pocklington and the Yorkshire Wolds area immediately west of The Gazette's territory. Closely comparable in scale, format, and community-focused news coverage.
• Scarborough News: Local newspaper covering the North Yorkshire coast town of Scarborough, similar in scale and community focus to The Gazette. Operated by Reach plc, providing a useful benchmark on operating model and revenue mix for a comparable UK coastal local title.
• Bridlington Free Press: A local newspaper serving Bridlington and the surrounding East Riding coast, immediately adjacent to The Gazette's Holderness/Hornsea territory. Closest direct local competitor in geography and community-coverage format.
• Beverley Guardian: Local newspaper serving Beverley and the West Hull/East Riding area. Comparable in operating model to The Gazette and competes for adjacent advertising and reader share within East Yorkshire.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights5 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/520049558176582
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/the-gazette_2

Compliance3 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

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 The Gazette