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We are delighted to be welcoming our new colleagues
from Tindle News to Iliffe today
This is the coming together of two independent, family-owned publishers with a passionate belief in the importance of local journalism, and we can't wait to start working together.
It will be business as normal for now, but as we get to know each other, our titles and the different areas we serve we will look to align the talents we have across the companies.
Iliffe and our associated joint venture companies already cover a huge part of the United Kingdom, from the Shetland Islands down to Kent and Hampshire. We are excited to be adding Wales and the Isle of Man to our portfolio, along with well-regarded titles in Surrey and the West Country.
We will be introducing you below to the senior management team at Iliffe and Tindle along with a map showing the areas we now cover. It's a huge patch encompassing cities, coastal towns, countryside, Highlands and islands. We will also be sharing our ethos and beliefs - we hope and believe they are ones you share.
About us
The company our new colleagues are joining today is a joint venture involving Edward Iliffe and the Fowler family. However, it will be operating fully under the Iliffe Media brand.
The Iliffe family has been involved in publishing since 1891 when it launched the Midlands Telegraph. The title later became the Coventry Evening Telegraph, which is still published today.
The Fowler family also has decades of publishing experience. The late Peter Fowler was widely regarded as a newspaper visionary and was formerly the majority shareholder of Scottish Provincial Press, now Highland News & Media Ltd. His son Rory, who is also CEO of the Stephen Austin Group, is now a shareholder.
We believe in the value of local news and advertising and that demand for trusted, regulated content will be more important than ever in an AI age.
We are proud of our publishing history but have always been focused on the future. Across our English and Scottish companies, we have more than 30,000 digital subscribers paying to read our content online. Some titles have more readers paying for digital than print.
This gives us belief that our industry has a healthy and sustainable future and will be a key element of our strategy as we integrate fully.
Decades of family-owned publishing
The Iliffe family has been synonymous with local news for more than 130 years.
Like the Tindle family, we believe life is local and that our teams should be part of the communities they serve.
The current iteration of Iliffe Media began in 2016 with the relaunch of the award-winning Cambridge Independent - a title originally published between 1839 and 1951.
The company grew in 2017 when it acquired a number of titles from Johnston Press, now known as Iconic. They included one of the UK's oldest newspapers, the Rutland and Stamford Mercury, alongside the Lincs Free Press, Bury Free Press, Newmarket Journal, Lynn News and many others.
Shortly afterwards Iliffe expanded again when it acquired another family-owned publisher, the KM Group, which publishes 13 titles across Kent. This development saw Iliffe add radio and television to its portfolio along with KentOnline, one of the UK's biggest regional news sites.
Further acquisitions have taken place along the way including the Newark Advertiser and Your Local Paper in West Norfolk.
The partnership between the Iliffe and the Fowler families has seen the wider company grow even further.
In 2019 it formed Highlands News and Media, formerly known as the Scottish Provincial Press. This saw the partnership take ownership of some of Scotland's most historic titles, including the Inverness Courier and John o'Groat Journal. This portfolio grew further last year with the acquisition of the Shetland Times. HNM was one of the first publishers to fully embrace subscriptions as part of its digital strategy.
The partnership acquired three other family-owned titles: the Newbury Weekly News, the Lymington and New Milton Advertiser and the Stratford Herald.
With a track record of integrating family-owned, independent titles into our portfolio, and using our increased scale to work towards a sustainable future, we believe Tindle is a perfect fit. We know the company and some of our new colleagues well and look forward to meeting everybody else.
From the Shetlands to the South Coast
From the Shetland Islands to the south coast of England, our portfolio now includes some of the biggest and most respected titles in the United Kingdom and Isle of Man.
It includes the UK's two oldest newspapers, the Rutland and Stamford Mercury and the Kentish Gazette, both published since the 1700s.
And we offer far more than just newspapers and websites. kmfm, which broadcasts across Kent, is one of the last truly local radio stations and our television station, KMTV, is about to launch its own NCTJ-accredited training academy - offering opportunities for colleagues across the company to develop their multimedia skills.
We are proud of our history and our reputation for editorial excellence, and the titles joining our portfolio today reflect that.
The award-winning Cambrian News is the biggest-selling weekly newspaper in Wales and dates back to 1860 while the Monmouthshire Beacon first published in the town’s Agincourt Square in 1837.
The Mid Devon Advertiser began life in 1863 and the Cornish & Devon Post first appeared on a masthead in Launceston in 1877.
The flagship Farnham Herald can trace its routes back to 1892 while the Isle of Man Examiner is the island's biggest-selling and oldest newspaper, publishing alongside the Isle of Man Today website.
Meet the Iliffe management team
Ian Carter
Ian is chief operating officer for Iliffe Media Group.
His background is in journalism, having held senior editor roles at Newsquest, Northcliffe, Trinity Mirror (now Reach) and BBC News Online.
He helped create, and now chairs, the Local Democracy Reporter Scheme and is a former IPSO complaints commissioner.
He lives in Brighton, is married (to another journalist) and has two children and a cockapoo.
He is a live music enthusiast and a season ticket holder at the Amex.
Steve Barron
Steve heads up Highland News & Media as managing director.
With 25 years' experience in the local media he understands the imperative to future proof the provision of local news.
Over the last five years he has worked closely with FT Strategies and the Google News Initiative to deliver a successful digital subscriptions strategy.
Steve is the current President of trade body Newsbrands Scotland.
A proud Invernessian, Steve enjoys making the most of the culture, sport and outdoor space on his doorstep.
Will Shepherd
Will is Iliffe's finance director and has been closely involved in its various acquisitions, working with the Iliffe family since 2008.
He is married with three children, five dogs and three horses and lives in Ely, where he has just finished renovating an old coach house.
His eldest son has just qualified as a commercial pilot and starts with Ryanair in April.
Will is a lifelong Liverpool and Ferrari fan.
Ricky Allan
Ricky is Iliffe's chief revenue officer and has decades of experience in local media, having worked as a managing director overseeing groups of regional titles across eastern England and the Midlands.
Ricky joined Iliffe Media in 2006 when a series of titles he launched in 1997 was acquired by the family.
He has previously worked for Trinity Mirror and Iconic, formerly known as National World.
Ricky, a keen Arsenal fan, lives in Essex and is a proud father and grandfather.
Introducing the Tindle management team
Scott Wood
Managing director Scott Wood lives in North Kent, orginating from the Isle of Sheppey.
He joined the world of publishing straight from school.
He is married to Lorraine, who herself has spent a long time in publishing and they have two grown up children, Megan, at university and Jack in his first year of A Levels.
Scott is a keen follower of all sport, including West Ham United, enjoys spending the summer at Canterbury watching Kent CCC and when time permits on the golf course.
Jon Gripton
Tindle group editorial director Jon lives in Plymouth with his wife, Victoria, and their Border Terrier, Scampi. He has a daughter who is about to sit her 'A' levels.
He is a keen runner, completing the London Marathon in 2024 and the Manchester Marathon last year, and he's a season ticket holder at Wolves F.C.
His career has taken him higher than advanced base camp on Mount Everest with the British Army; on a roller coaster ride with Kylie Minogue; backstage at The Oscars, where he interviewed Sandra Bullock, Kate Winslet and Pierce Brosnan; and dancing on stage with Take That. He's a former mix-DJ and founding member of DMC, and he loves cheese.
The board and shareholders
Edward Iliffe
Edward is continuing a family tradition through his investment in local media.
The Iliffes launched the Midlands Telegraph in 1891 and today he oversees a company publishing some of the country's most historic titles.
As chief executive of the Yattendon Group he has numerous other business interests including real estate in Canada, marinas, a brewery and even a Christmas tree farm.
Rory Fowler
Rory is co‑owner and CEO of Stephen Austin Group and is responsible for the Fowler family’s investments in local media, printing, education technology and property.
He has been involved in local media since the early 2000s, when he joined the board of Scottish Provincial Press, the first Fowler/Iliffe joint venture.
Rory believes strongly in the future of high‑quality local journalism as a vital part of informed, connected communities.
Ed Obolensky
Ed qualified as a chartered accountant in 2002 and began his career in trade finance, working extensively across Eastern Europe and Southern Africa.
He later returned to the UK, where he founded and grew a successful food business, exiting the company in 2022.
Now based in Kenya, Ed manages a portfolio of investments across Eastern Africa.
David Fordham
David is a vastly experienced media executive and led on the acquisition of Tindle News.
He has worked in the industry for more than 50 years, more than 30 of them with the Iliffe family. He is a former CEO of Iliffe.
He has served as president of the Newspaper Society and represented Media Concierge on the board or National World before its takeover by Iconic last year.
He is chair of Highlands News and Media and our joint venture companies in addition to being an Iliffe board director.
So what happens now?
The most important people involved in any acquistion are our colleagues - those already working for Iliffe and those we are welcoming today.
For now it's business as normal, but we will be relying on your local knowledge and expertise as we bring our companies fully together over the coming months.
We are committed to providing you with the best tools to do your job - whether that's publishing and analytics or commercial and back office platforms.
There will undoubtedly be changes ahead but we hope you are as excited as we are to begin the journey.
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