Caspian Publishing has revealed details of its next launch, Real IR, a magazine for company directors.
The 56-page monthly, due out next March, will cover investor relations in the UK and Europe.
Caspian editorial director Stuart Rock said it would appeal to every director with responsibility for investor relations within every quoted company in Europe. It will compete with Cross-Border Publishing’s IR magazine, which is also about shareholder communications.
Rock told Press Gazette he believed there was room in the market for two titles, because Real IR would have a European bent while IR magazine has more of a global outlook.
“We think there is room enough for two because we are taking a strong European and UK focus. This is a sector that is still developing,” he said. “Investor relations has been around as a management discipline and a professional requirement for some time but there are now a number of factors that mean it is rapidly maturing.”
While directors are often sent a lot of information on investor relations, Rock said there was very little that was relevant.
Real IR will feature news analysis and will cover corporate governance issues and changing regulatory requirements, as well as practical features on designing annual reports and the growing area of online IR.
Rock said it would have a “gritty, down-to-earth flavour” including a detailed look at good operators in the business.
Copies of the magazine will be distributed to company directors in the UK and European countries such as France, Germany, Sweden and the Netherlands. It will be subscription-based and have a print run of 8,000.
Scott Payton is editor and an editorial team will be recruited over the next three months. Payton, who edited the European-based e-business title Net Profit, has written for the FT, The Financial Mail on Sunday and The Independent.
Real IR is the fourth launch from Caspian Publishing, which also owns Real Deals, Real Business and Real Finance. Caspian has pencilled in a fifth launch for October 2004.
By Ruth Addicott
Email pged@pressgazette.co.uk to point out mistakes, provide story tips or send in a letter for publication on our "Letters Page" blog
