RBI’s Estates Gazette undergoes major print revamp

The 150-year-old business magazine Estates Gazette has undergone a major revamp following an extensive reader research programme.

Changes to the magazine come after publisher Reed Business Information held focus groups, face to face and telephone interviews with property professionals to help refocus the title.

As a result, the new magazine – which hit newsstands earlier this month – has introduced a new company index, new columnists, illustrators and photographers and improved navigation.

The magazine now places greater emphasis on images, data and info-graphics and adopts a new five-section structure.

The new format property magazine also has more pages, a new design and improved paper stock.

The revamp follows the appointment of Damian Wild as editor in September, when he replaced Peter Bill who retired after 12 years in the job.

Wild said: “I have spent the last nine months talking to readers about their relationship with Estates Gazette and their information needs.

“The changes are very much the result of that listening process, bolstered by some good old-fashioned editorial innovation. In B2B it’s as important to follow readers as lead them.

“We believe that we have come up with a product that looks much more dynamic, makes it much easier for readers to find their way around and retains all the qualities for which we’re best known: our authority, our comprehensive coverage and our market leading news, comment and analysis.”

According to the most recent figures released by the Audit Bureau of Circulations, Estates Gazette had an average weekly circulation of 25, 643 in the 12 months to the end of June last year.

The changes at Estates Gazette, which will also revamp its digital offerings later in the year, follow months of cuts at RBI as it looks to reduce cost and the number of titles its publishes.

Last week, RBI placed12 posts at risk with plans to drop the weekly print edition of Personnel Today and take the title online only.

Parent company Reed Elsevier revealed in February that profits at RBI, which includes UK magazine brands such as Farmers Weekly, New Scientist and Flight International, slumped by more than a third last year to £89m.

The parent company has steadily been disposing of RBI titles across the globe following the appointment of Erik Engstrom as chief executive last year.

In April, Reed Elsevier offloaded dozens of magazines from RBI’s US operation.

In January, RBI sold its UK Cosmetics News Weekly title to rival Communications International Group for an undisclosed sum.

These moves followed changes last year at RBI UK.

In July, it sold its travel portfolio – including Travel Weekly magazine – to the entrepreneur behind Holiday Autos, Clive Jacobs. And in November it closed the 130 year-old weekly magazine for the UK construction industry, Contract Journal.