Black Ox makes second regional acquisition as it buys Business & Innovation Magazine

Black Ox Media & Events has made its second acquisition of a regional business title in less than two years, buying Business & Innovation Magazine for an undisclosed sum.

Picture above: Black Ox Managing Editor Stephen Emerson, Business & Innovation Magazine Editor Nicky Godding, Black Ox Managing Director Richard Thompson, Group Finance Director of the Branscombe Group  Lenka Drablow, Black Ox Sales Director Ray Clark and Business & Innovation Magazine Director Kirsty Muir

Black Ox Media & Events’ first acquisition – in January 2021 – was The Business Magazine, a well-established title covering the Thames Valley, The Solent and the South East in which it has invested substantially in its digital offering. 

The purchase of Business & Innovation Magazine extends its reach which will be built around a regional edition strategy.

The editorially led magazine, which has been publishing for more than five years, attracts a senior business audience across Gloucestershire, Worcestershire, Oxfordshire, North Wiltshire, Bristol, Coventry and Warwickshire.

The acquisition will enable Black Ox Media & Events to make further investment in its regional reporting alongside rolling out a comprehensive regional event and conference programme. It will continue to champion local business communities, which form the bedrock of the UK’s regional and national economies.

The Business & Innovation Magazine team will play a key role in a redesign of the returning The Business Magazine print edition.

Richard Thompson, Managing Director at Black Ox Media & Events, said: “We’re delighted to welcome the Business & Innovation Magazine team to the Black Ox family. We share a common purpose, to promote, connect and inform the regional business community with high-quality journalism and engaging events programmes and experiences.

“The acquisition is highly complementary and enables us to expand our South East regional presence into the West of England region, and as a combined team cover the South from Worcester and Warwickshire, down through to Gloucestershire, Oxfordshire, The Thames Valley and the South Coast from Dorset to Kent.” 

Business & Innovation Magazine director, Nicky Godding said: “We are absolutely delighted to be joining Black Ox Media & Events. We launched in 2017 to support our region’s business community. Joining forces with Black Ox allows us to offer an even stronger essential regional news resource for business owners and professionals.

“We have always stuck by our original objectives: to offer businesses a true regional perspective, revealing the companies, personalities and innovations which are the bedrock of a regional economy, alongside entrepreneurial growing businesses, and showcasing regional sectors and trends.”

Business & Innovation Magazine Director, Kirsty Muir added: “Joining Black Ox allows us to expand our commercial platform for business growth, offering advertisers and sponsors the best regionally-focussed opportunities to appear in front of company directors, business owners, entrepreneurs, and senior corporate executives, across the South West, South East and West Midlands.”

This is the second acquisition by Black Ox Media & Events this year, following the purchase of Guildford-based video and animation production studio Sightline Media in April. 

McGills in Cirencester advised on the sale of Business & Innovation Magazine.