National World plc is a British multimedia company based in Leeds, England. The company was founded and listed on the London Stock Exchange in September 2019 as a media takeover vehicle. In January 2021, it acquired JPIMedia for £10.2 million.[1][2][3][4]
In April 2022, JPIMedia was rebranded to National World.[5] Since purchasing JPIMedia, National World has launched sixteen new titles and made a further seven acquisitions,[6] notably Insider Media.[7]
The company reported 2022 revenues of £84.1M and adjusted EBITDA of £9.7M.[9]
In December 2024, Media Concierge, owner of Iconic Newspapers, agreed to acquire National World for £65.1 million.[10]
Acquisition of JPI Media
On 31 December 2020, it was announced that JPIMedia Publishing Ltd (formerly Johnston Press[11]) and its subsidiaries were being sold to National World PLC on 2 January 2021. The new company was set up by the media executive David Montgomery.[12][13]
On 29 April 2022, JPIMedia Publishing Ltd rebranded to National World Publishing Ltd, otherwise known as National World.[5]
Acquisition of Midland News Association
In September 2023, it was announced that the Graham family-owned Claverley Group had sold its subsidiary Midland News Association to National World PLC. The £11m sale included the regional daily newspapers Shropshire Star and Express & Star, and a number of weekly titles, along with Press Computer Systems, which supplies publishing platforms for both MNA and other major publishers including Newsquest and DC Thomson. The sale marked Claverley Group's exit from regional newspaper publishing.[14]
Since the acquisition of JPI Media, National World Plc has made further launches and acquisitions.[15]
In March 2021, nationalworld.com was launched as a national news website with an editorial team across the UK.[16] This was followed by the launch of city websites in Manchester, Liverpool, Newcastle, Glasgow, London,[17] Birmingham and Bristol.[15] Further sites were launched for Northern Ireland, Sussex, Lincolnshire and Warwickshire.[18]
Subsequent launches were made in 2023 into Nottingham[19] and Derby,[20] and further national sites were launched, peopleworld.co.uk[21] and 3addedminutes.com.[22] National World also acquired the assets of football website publisher Scoopdragon and video content aggregator Newschain,[23] and news titles such as Newry Reporter,[24] Farm Week[25] and Banbridge Chronicle.[26]
On 2 May 2023 the company announced the acquisitions of business media provider Insider Media as well as Yorkshire publisher the Rotherham Advertiser.[7]
NationalWorld owns one of Scotland's national titles, The Scotsman
Media brands in Great Britain
The following is a partial list of British websites, magazines and newspapers owned by the company:[27]
On 7 August 2023[31] National World launched Shots!, a website devoted to football chat, true crime shows[32] and real life stories. National World also acquired a streaming slot for Shots! on Freeview channel 276, where it runs 24 hours a day and features shows such as The Heritage Chart Show with Mike Read, Walks Around Britain[33] and Exceptional Homes,[34] along with reports such as I Was in Byker Grove.[35][36][37]
