Estates Gazette has been saved from closure some two weeks after owner RELX announced it was all over for the once mighty property industry title.
The 166-year-old business information brand is expected to be bought by Mark Allen Group, the privately-owned £66m revenue B2B publishing group.
A statement published on the Mark Allen Group website said: “Following the difficult decision in early December to begin the process of withdrawing all EG products and services from the market during 2025, RELX has received a number of approaches.
“RELX are pleased to share that they are entering into exclusive discussions with Mark Allen Group in respect of an acquisition of certain of the EG Magazine, EG Events and EG Jobs assets.
“Mark Allen Group, as a successful independent family company with an excellent track record of success and in making things happen, will be focused on re-energising the historic Estates Gazette magazine and ensuring it has a future.
“A small number of EG’s current employees may be offered roles within the Mark Allen Group alongside the sale process.”
According to EG, the brand employs around 80 journalists and researchers.
According to Flashes and Flames, MAG has paid £2m for the weekly magazine which has not posted an ABC figure since the 2000s (when it sold 25,000 copies per week). Itis said to generate £3.5m a year of revenue.
Flashes and Flames reports that EG’s online property data and information business will be sold separately and generates revenue of around £8m per year.
MAG is expected to revive the Estates Gazette branding after seven years trading as EG.
The deal comes some 30 years after RELX bought Estates Gazette from Reed Business Information for £59m.
EG magazine director Chris Feetwood said of the decision to close the title earlier this month: “The past few years have been very difficult for the real estate industry as a whole, and EG has been caught in these headwinds too. We have worked hard to fortify the business but have unfortunately had to make this extremely difficult decision.
“EG has been such an integral part of the UK commercial property market for such a long time, so this decision has understandably been very hard. However, we are immensely proud of all that the business and its people have delivered over the many, many years, from being the property journal of choice to becoming the first contributory database for the UK property sector.”
Mark Allen Group operates print, digital and event brands in specialist sectors including healthcare, education, music, aviation, telecommunications and HR. One of its biggest brands by circulation, Farmers Weekly
RELX is the largest media company by revenue in the UK, reporting global turnover of £9.2bn in its 2023 full-year accounts.
Email pged@pressgazette.co.uk to point out mistakes, provide story tips or send in a letter for publication on our "Letters Page" blog
