Express and Star
Express and Star is a regional news publisher serving consumers across the West Midlands of England, operating the expressandstar.com digital platform covering local news, sport, business, and politics, with a paid Plus subscription tier for premium journalism.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded-
- Headquarters—
- Headcount101–250
- GTM typeB2C
- OfferingServices
What Express and Star does
Express and Star is a regional news publisher serving the West Midlands of England, covering Wolverhampton, Walsall, Dudley, West Bromwich, Staffordshire, and Birmingham. Its core product is the expressandstar.com digital news platform, which publishes across categories including News, Crime, Business, Health, Education, Environment, Opinion, Nostalgia, and Sport, with dedicated football coverage of Wolverhampton Wanderers, West Bromwich Albion, Walsall FC, and Aston Villa. The company also operates a Public Notices channel in partnership with publicnoticeportal.uk.
The business operates as a subsidiary of Iconic Media Group Ltd., a private limited company registered in England and Wales (company number 11499982). Its product surface extends beyond editorial content into a paid 'Plus' subscription offering full access to award-winning journalism, email newsletters for regular updates, plus ancillary services including classifieds, a business directory, and a photo archive. The platform does not offer a dedicated mobile app, public API, or SDK.
The business model is a hybrid of advertising-supported free content and subscription paywalls, monetizing a horizontal base of general consumers in the West Midlands via digital readership and Plus subscribers. Pricing is not publicly disclosed. The company employs between 101-250 staff based on the firmographic range provided. No revenue figure is disclosed in the source data.
Express and Star firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Express and Star
- Legal name
- Iconic Media Group Ltd.
- Website
- https://expressandstar.co.uk
- Company type
- Private
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 101–250 employees
- Short description
- Express and Star is a regional news publisher serving consumers across the West Midlands of England, operating the expressandstar.com digital platform covering local news, sport, business, and politics, with a paid Plus subscription tier for premium journalism.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Express and Star industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Regional Newspaper
- NAICS
- Newspaper Publishers (513110)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Newsletters & Email-Based News Publishers (B2B/B2C) (MPAJADAJ)
Keywords
Express and Star business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2C
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Supply Chain, Others
Distribution channels1 record
Marketing channels3 records
Express and Star product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Express and Star is a regional news publisher that produces local journalism for the West Midlands of England in both print and online formats. Its core offering is the Express and Star news website (expressandstar.com), delivering coverage across News, Sport, Business, Politics, Health, Education, Environment, Opinion, Nostalgia, What's On, and Your World. The site is supplemented by a Plus subscription tier for full premium access, email newsletters, classifieds, a business directory, and a photo archive.
Product overview
Express and Star is a local news publication serving the West Midlands region. The company operates a unified digital news platform (expressandstar.com) that delivers news content across multiple categories including News, Sport, Business, Politics, Health, Education, Environment, Opinion, Nostalgia, What's On, and Your World. The primary offering is the news website itself, supplemented by subscription services (Plus), newsletters, classifieds, business directory, and photo archive services.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Express and Star News Website Local news publication covering the West Midlands region with news, sports, business, politics, health, education, environment, opinion, nostalgia, what's on, and community content delivered via expressandstar.com.
- Plus Subscription Premium subscription tier offering full access to award-winning journalism across all news, sport, business, and lifestyle categories for individual readers in the West Midlands.
- Email Newsletters Regular email newsletters delivering curated regional news, sport, and feature updates to subscribed readers.
- Public Notices Service Publication of statutory and legal public notices via the publicnoticeportal.uk platform, integrated with the Express and Star brand.
Companies that use Express and Star
Customer profileSegments1 record
Ideal customer profiles1 record
Express and Star technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Express and Star partnerships and signals
Strategic signalRecent moves1 record
Expansion highlights4 records
Express and Star competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Birmingham Mail / Birmingham Live: Reach plc's regional title covering the Birmingham/West Midlands area, directly overlapping Express and Star's core geography and content verticals including news, sport, and politics.
- Coventry Telegraph: Reach plc regional news brand covering Coventry and surrounding Midlands areas, competing for the same regional advertising and readership pool adjacent to Express and Star.
- Wolverhampton Chronicle (historical): Predecessor/adjacent regional title in the West Midlands with comparable Wolverhampton local news and football (Wolves) focus.
Regional players
- Stoke-on-Trent Sentinel: Newsquest regional daily covering Staffordshire; geographic neighbor to Express and Star's Staffordshire coverage with overlapping community/sport audiences.
- Shropshire Star: Independent regional newspaper covering Shropshire and parts of the West Midlands, comparable in scale, business model, and regional-focus to Express and Star.
- Yorkshire Post / Yorkshire Evening Post: National/regional UK newspaper group covering Yorkshire with similar multi-vertical editorial model and regional subscription offering.
- Leicester Mercury: Reach plc regional daily covering Leicester/East Midlands with similar paid digital subscription strategy and sport-led traffic model.
Emerging players
- Lichfield Live / Stourbridge News: Hyperlocal digital news outlets in the West Midlands competing for the same community news and classified advertising share.
Broad incumbents
- BBC West Midlands: Public service broadcaster covering West Midlands news, sport, and politics; competes for audience attention though operates on a non-commercial model.
- ITV News Central: Regional TV broadcaster covering the Midlands with news and sport verticals overlapping Express and Star's editorial territory.
Market position
Strengths4 records
Weaknesses4 records
Competitive moat3 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
Express and Star social profiles
Digital presenceExpress and Star financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Express and Star leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Express and Star funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Express and Star M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Express and Star
What does Express and Star do?
Express and Star is a regional news publisher that produces local journalism for the West Midlands of England in both print and online formats. Its core offering is the Express and Star news website (expressandstar.com), delivering coverage across News, Sport, Business, Politics, Health, Education, Environment, Opinion, Nostalgia, What's On, and Your World. The site is supplemented by a Plus subscription tier for full premium access, email newsletters, classifieds, a business directory, and a photo archive.
Is Express and Star a public or private company?
Express and Star is a private company. It is classified as corporate owned and is currently operating.
When was Express and Star founded?
Express and Star was founded in -1. It employs 101 to 250 people.
Who are Express and Star's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Birmingham Mail / Birmingham Live, Coventry Telegraph and Wolverhampton Chronicle (historical). Regional players are Stoke-on-Trent Sentinel, Shropshire Star, Yorkshire Post / Yorkshire Evening Post and Leicester Mercury. Lichfield Live / Stourbridge News is listed as an emerging player. Broad incumbents are BBC West Midlands and ITV News Central.
Does Express and Star have an API?
No public API is recorded for Express and Star.
What industry is Express and Star in?
Express and Star's product category is Regional Newspaper. Its primary akta.pro industry code is MPAJADAJ, Newsletters & Email-Based News Publishers (B2B/B2C). Its NAICS code is 513110.