Newsdirect Wales

What Newsdirect Wales does

Newsdirect Wales, legally DeHavilland Information Services Limited, is a Cardiff-headquartered political-intelligence provider founded in 1998 and now operating as DeHavilland Devolved following its 2025 acquisition by DeHavilland. The firm sits within the Helio Intelligence group alongside sister company Forefront Advisers. Its core platform delivers AI-augmented political monitoring, stakeholder management, horizon scanning, policy-research support, and sentiment analysis built on the proprietary PeoplePoint database covering 50,000+ policymakers across UK central government, devolved nations, the EU, and selected international jurisdictions. Customers include multinational corporates, charities, and public-service organisations, with named logos spanning HSBC, BT, General Motors UK, Siemens, RSPCA, Human Rights Watch, RenewableUK, and the Royal College of Psychiatrists.

The product is delivered via a subscription platform with API and CRM integration, allowing enterprise government-affairs teams to embed structured policymaker data and curated intelligence into their existing workflows. Underlying technology combines the PeoplePoint data asset with applied AI capabilities in natural language processing, knowledge retrieval, and sentiment analysis, layered over in-house analyst curation across UK and EU policy domains. Differentiation rests primarily on the depth and longevity of the policymaker dataset and on dedicated coverage of the UK devolved nations (Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland), which is underserved by Westminster-focused competitors.

The business model is B2B subscription-based with auto-renewing annual contracts and a 90-day cancellation notice. Pricing permits annual increases up to UK RPI plus 5%, supporting predictable recurring revenue and inflation-linked expansion. Go-to-market is sales-led with event-driven components (sector dinners, policy briefings), supported by an EMEA-and-APAC-facing sales team. Customers range from large multinational enterprises to charities and public-sector bodies, indicating diversified segment exposure. Within the broader Helio Intelligence group, the combined entity serves more than 1,200 clients.

Name

Newsdirect Wales

Legal name

DeHavilland Information Services Limited

Website

https://news.direct

Company type

Private

Founded year

1998

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

DeHavilland Devolved (formerly NewsDirect) provides AI-augmented political intelligence across UK and EU, built on a 50,000+ policymaker database, serving multinational corporates, charities, and public-service organisations via subscription.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Political Intelligence Software

NAICS

Software Publishers (513210), Web Search Portals, Libraries, Archives, and Other Information Services (519)

SIC

Services-Prepackaged Software (7372)

akta.pro primary industry

Content Aggregation, Curation & RSS Platforms (BPAMAJAI)

akta.pro secondary industry

Q&A and Knowledge Discovery Platforms (BPAMAAAF)

Keywords

• Political intelligence services
• Stakeholder management software
• Political monitoring platform
• Policy research support
• Public affairs intelligence

Headquarters

HQ city

Cardiff

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Software

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Subscription-based Political Intelligence Services: Recurring subscription model for access to political monitoring, stakeholder management, horizon scanning, policy research support and sentiment analysis services. Contracts auto-renew annually with 90-day notice period for termination. Fees increase annually based on UK RPI plus 5%.
2. Events and Conferences: Revenue generated from hosting and participating in events with political insiders and policymakers, providing premium engagement opportunities for clients.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

DeHavilland operates an AI-powered political intelligence platform that ingests data from UK and EU governments, parliament, committees, press, social media, blogs and databases to deliver real-time political monitoring, stakeholder management, horizon scanning, policy research support and sentiment analysis services to public affairs and government relations professionals. The offering combines proprietary technology, including the PeoplePoint database of 50,000+ policymakers and influencers, with in-house policy analysts.

Product overview

DeHavilland provides political intelligence as a unified platform combining proprietary technology with AI tools and in-house policy expertise. The core offering consists of the DeHavilland Platform supporting multiple services: Political Monitoring (real-time tracking from thousands of sources), Stakeholder Management via PeoplePoint (managing over 50,000 political contacts), Policy and Research Support (access to in-house analysts), Horizon Scanning (future risk/opportunity identification), and Sentiment Analysis. The platform also includes an API for CRM integration and AI-powered question generation for stakeholder engagement. DeHavilland Devolved (formerly NewsDirect, acquired 2025) extends coverage to Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland with regional expert teams.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• DeHavilland Platform The core AI-powered political intelligence platform that combines proprietary technology with in-house policy expertise to provide political monitoring, stakeholder management, policy analysis, horizon scanning and sentiment analysis services to public affairs and government relations teams.
• Political Monitoring Real-time political monitoring service tracking developments from thousands of sources including governments, parliament, committees, press, social media, blogs and databases, delivering customized alerts and curated updates tailored to specific client briefs.
• Stakeholder Management (PeoplePoint) Stakeholder management tool backed by the PeoplePoint database of over 50,000 policymakers, decision-makers and influencers, with biographies, contact details, political context, engagement tracking, impact analysis and AI-powered stakeholder identification.
• Policy and Research Support Provides access to in-house policy analysts and researchers for adding capacity and political insight to client teams, including guidance through changing policy landscapes and support for one-off research projects.
• Horizon Scanning Forward planning service to manage political risk and identify future opportunities for client organizations, supporting strategic preparation for upcoming political developments.
• Sentiment Analysis Service to understand how policy issues, organizations and competitors are discussed by key political contacts, leveraging NLP and AI tools to assess sentiment across political discourse.
• DeHavilland Devolved Dedicated political monitoring service for Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland devolved administrations, with local expert teams in Edinburgh, Glasgow and Cardiff providing tailored coverage of Holyrood, Senedd and Stormont.

Quantifiable outcome

• Time savings allowing teams to focus on strategic engagement rather than information gathering
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers8 records

Segments6 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

Yes

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration2 records

AI capability5 records

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• NewsDirect (Acquired)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2025NewsDirect was acquired by DeHavilland in 2025 and rebranded as DeHavilland Devolved. The acquisition broadened coverage across devolved nations (Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland) and expanded the company's ability to offer comprehensive UK political intelligence. The same NewsDirect expertise, knowledge and values power the new devolved services.
• Helio IntelligencecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerParent company of DeHavilland Information Services Limited. Helio Intelligence is the leading provider of political intelligence in the EU and UK, serving over 1,200 clients through its brands DeHavilland and Forefront. Helio Intelligence provides the overarching group structure and platform for DeHavilland's operations.
• Forefront AdviserscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSister company and leader in political insight, helping clients anticipate future risks and opportunities for their organisations. Forefront provides guidance, insight and analysis to understand what is going on in politics across the UK and EU for investors, financial institutions, large corporates and law firms.
• OPP Group SRLminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPart of the Helio Intelligence group alongside DeHavilland and Forefront Advisers.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• Politico Europe: Established news and intelligence provider on EU politics and policy with subscription products serving public-affairs and government-relations professionals. Comparable in serving policy professionals with curated political content and intelligence on EU/UK policy.
• Politico Pro: Subscription policy-intelligence service providing in-depth coverage of UK, EU and US policy developments for public-affairs and government-relations professionals. Directly comparable product offering and customer base.
• FleishmanHillard (Omnicom Public Affairs): Global PR and public-affairs network with significant UK/EU government-relations practice offering political intelligence and monitoring as part of broader communications retainers. Comparable as a competitor for enterprise political-monitoring budgets.
• Edelman UK Public Affairs: UK arm of global PR group Edelman with a substantial public-affairs practice offering political intelligence and government-relations services to enterprise clients. Comparable as a scaled incumbent competitor.

Direct peers

• Portland Communications: Strategic communications and public-affairs consultancy with strong UK and EU government-relations offering, including political monitoring and stakeholder engagement. Comparable as a direct competitor in UK political intelligence for corporate clients.
• Hanover Communications: UK and European public-affairs consultancy offering political monitoring, stakeholder engagement and policy insight to corporate clients. Directly comparable in target customers (FTSE/multinationals) and core services.
• Cicero Group: UK public-affairs and political-intelligence consultancy offering stakeholder mapping, monitoring and strategic advice to corporate and financial clients. Comparable service mix and customer overlap.
• MHP Communications: Strategic communications and public-affairs consultancy with strong UK government-relations capability serving FTSE and multinational clients. Comparable competitor for political-monitoring budgets.
• Forefront Advisers: Sister company under Helio Intelligence providing political insight and analysis across UK and EU for investors, financial institutions, large corporates and law firms. Most directly comparable as it offers the same category of political intelligence with a financial/investor audience focus.
• Luther Pendragon: London-based public-affairs and strategic communications firm providing political monitoring and policy intelligence to corporates, trade associations and NGOs. Comparable in services, customer base and UK-centric coverage.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xtwitter.com/DeHavilland
• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCNaBSmSOxltXN04sExZT_jQ
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/newsdirect-wales

Compliance2 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles7 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 Newsdirect Wales