Archant

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Archant is a publishing company, based in Norwich, Norfolk, England. The group publishes four daily newspapers, around 50 weekly newspapers, and a number of consumer and contract magazines.

The Group employs around 2400 employees in East Anglia, the Home Counties, the West Country and Scotland and was known as Eastern Counties Newspapers, until March 2002.

Contents

[edit] History

The company began publishing in Norwich in 1845 with the Norfolk News, backed by Jacob Henry Tillet, Jeremiah Colman, John Copeman and Thomas Jarrold. The Colman and Copeman families still retain close involvement in the business.

The Eastern Weekly Press was launched in 1867 and in 1870 was renamed the Eastern Daily Press. A sister title, the Eastern Evening News was launched in 1882. As the business grew it moved premises in 1902, 1959 and again in the late 1960s to its present headquarters location at Prospect House in the centre of Norwich.

At the end of the 1960s, Eastern Counties Newspapers began its corporate expansion with the coming together of ECN with the East Anglian Daily Times Company to form Eastern Counties Newspapers Group (ECNG).

ECNG developed further with the launch of Community Media Limited in 1981, a weeklies publishing operation based in Bath which launched and acquired titles in Scotland and the West Country.

In 1985, ECNG purchased the East Anglia-based Advertiser group of weekly free newspapers. These businesses operated as separate entities until the mid-1990s when they were brought together under the ECNG banner.

ECNG itself grew in 1993, when it bought four weekly newspapers in Huntingdon, Ely, Wisbech and March from Thomson. The acquisition of Peterhead-based P Scrogie followed shortly afterwards.

The company moved into Internet publishing in 1996 when it launched Eastern Counties Network, a Web-based service using copy from its four daily newspapers as well as original material. Later this was disaggregated into separate websites for each of the newspapers.

In April 1998, ECNG bought Home Counties Newspapers Holdings plc with an agreed bid of approximately £58m. HCNH published a range of 26 weekly paid and free titles across Greater London and the Home Counties. The title portfolio included the Hampstead & Highgate Express, the South Essex Recorder series, the Herts Advertiser series, the Comet series, the Herald group and the Welwyn & Hatfield Times.

Consumer magazine publisher Market Link Publishing, now Archant Specialist, based in Essex was acquired by ECNG for £5m in autumn 1999. Its titles now include Photography Monthly, Professional Photographer, Pilot and Sport Diver.

The launch of a county magazine in Norfolk in 2000 saw the beginning of what is now Archant Life, the country's biggest publisher of county magazines. The division was subsequently given scale through acquisitions in the North West, the Cotswolds and the South and South East of England.

In March 2002, ECNG changed its name to Archant.

In December 2003, Archant purchased 27 weekly newspapers from Independent News and Media in two separate deals worth up to £62m. The titles included the Islington Gazette, the East London Advertiser, the Barking & Dagenham Post and the Kentish Times series.

In early 2005, Archant acquired two magazine publishers Romsey Publishing Group, which became part of Archant Specialist, and Highbury Local Publications, which became part of Archant Life.

In summer 2005, Archant Anglia was merged with Archant Norfolk and the newly created Archant Herts & Cambs division of Archant Regional.

In January 2006, Archant acquired London local magazine publisher Metropolis.

[edit] Publications

[edit] Daily Newspapers

[edit] Weekly Paid Newspapers

[edit] Weekly Free Newspapers

[edit] Fortnightly Free Newspapers

  • UEA Concrete (and The Event)

[edit] Magazines

  • Agricultural Trader
  • Airgunner
  • Airgun World
  • Angel
  • Association of Professional Ambulance Personnel: Ambulance Assessment
  • Association of Teachers & Lecturers: Report, Student Focus
  • Berkshire Life
  • BPI News
  • British Alpaca Society: Alpaca
  • British Deer Farmers Association: Deer Farming
  • Cambridgeshire Life
  • Cheshire Life
  • Cotswold Life
  • Devon Life
  • CLA: Country Landowner & Rural Business
  • Connexionews
  • Country Smallholding
  • EADT Suffolk Magazine
  • EDP Norfolk
  • Essex Life
  • Farmers Union of Wales: Welsh Farmer
  • France Magazine
  • French Property News
  • Grafik
  • Grove
  • Hampshire Life
  • Hertfordshire Business Life
  • Hertfordshire Life
  • Holidaymaker
  • Kent Life
  • Lancashire Life
  • Live Well
  • Living France
  • Living South
  • Let's Talk! (Norfolk)
  • Let's Talk! (Suffolk)
  • National Federation of Young Farmers: Ten 26
  • North
  • Northwest
  • Norwich and Peterborough Building Society: Society News
  • Océ Dialogue
  • Océ News
  • Olympus User
  • On Business
  • Panorama
  • Photography Monthly
  • Pilot
  • Professional Photographer
  • Rise
  • South & West Wales Trader
  • Saab Automobile: Saab Magazine, Saab World, Saab Unlimited Bulletin, Saab Business World
  • Sales Promotion
  • Seafarer
  • Somerset Life
  • Sport Diver
  • Suffolk Business
  • Surrey Life
  • Sussex Life
  • SW
  • Swimming Pool News
  • Thames Guardian
  • The British Association for Shooting & Conservation: The Custodian
  • The British Association for Shooting & Conservation: Wildfowling
  • The Game Conservancy Trust: Gamewise
  • The Green
  • The Guide
  • The Hill
  • The Resident
  • Total Digital Photography
  • Westside
  • Which Camera?
  • Which Camera? Digital
  • Yorkshire Life
  • Xplorer
  • Xpression
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