Trader Media Group
Encyclopedia
Trader Media Group is a British
-based publishing company, specialising in classified display advertising
. It is owned by Guardian Media Group
(50.1%) and Apax Partners
(49.9%).
Trader Media Group's 72 titles, which have a combined circulation of more than one million copies per week, include the well known motoring titles Auto Trader, Bike Trader, Truck Trader, Top Marques, the boat focused Marine Trader Media, as well as the UK's largest circulating free-ads title AdTrader. TMG also has publications in Ireland
, Italy
and the Netherlands
.
by Stuart W. Arnold, who sold the company years later to Cox Media Group
.
After a holiday to the United States, John Madejski
, brought the idea behind "Trader Publishing" to the UK, by forming Hurst Publishing with business partner Paul Gibbons in 1977. Hurst launched Thames Valley Trader that same year, and then Southern Auto Trader in 1981.
In 1983, Guardian Media Group approached Hurst Publishing, with intentions of launching similar branded titles in the North of England, rather than competing head to head. Gradually, a group of classified advertising titles evolved that were either wholly owned by Hurst Publishing or by Guardian Media Group, or jointly owned by the two organisations. From 1988 all automotive titles were branded Auto Trader. TMG continued to expand, and in 1995 launched Auto Trader in both Northern and Southern Ireland. Separately, in 1994-96 David Owen Smith launched Top Marques, followed by other national titles inclduing Bike Trader and Truck Trader.
In July 1998, the two partners in Hurst Publishing sold part of their business to the specialist European venture capitalists BC Partners
, who approached Guardian Media Group and proposed a merger to form a new over-arching company, which had complete ownership in all titles. Trader Media Group was launched in May 2000.
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
-based publishing company, specialising in classified display advertising
Classified advertising
Classified advertising is a form of advertising which is particularly common in newspapers, online and other periodicals which may be sold or distributed free of charge...
. It is owned by Guardian Media Group
Guardian Media Group
Guardian Media Group plc is a company of the United Kingdom owning various mass media operations including The Guardian and The Observer. The Group is owned by the Scott Trust. It was founded as the Manchester Guardian Ltd in 1907 when C. P. Scott bought the Manchester Guardian from the estate of...
(50.1%) and Apax Partners
Apax Partners
Apax Partners LLP is a global private equity and venture capital firm, headquartered in London. The company also operates out of eight other offices in New York, Hong Kong, Mumbai, Tel-Aviv, Madrid, Stockholm, Milan and Munich. The firm, including its various predecessors, have raised...
(49.9%).
Trader Media Group's 72 titles, which have a combined circulation of more than one million copies per week, include the well known motoring titles Auto Trader, Bike Trader, Truck Trader, Top Marques, the boat focused Marine Trader Media, as well as the UK's largest circulating free-ads title AdTrader. TMG also has publications in Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
, Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
and the Netherlands
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
.
History
"Trader Publishing" was started in the United StatesUnited States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
by Stuart W. Arnold, who sold the company years later to Cox Media Group
Cox Media Group
Cox Media Group, Inc., a subsidiary of Atlanta-based Cox Enterprises, is an integrated broadcasting, publishing and digital media company that also includes Valpak and the national advertising rep firms of Cox Reps...
.
After a holiday to the United States, John Madejski
John Madejski
Sir John Robert Madejski OBE DL is an English businessman, with commercial interests, spanning property, broadcast media, hotels, restaurants, publishing and football...
, brought the idea behind "Trader Publishing" to the UK, by forming Hurst Publishing with business partner Paul Gibbons in 1977. Hurst launched Thames Valley Trader that same year, and then Southern Auto Trader in 1981.
In 1983, Guardian Media Group approached Hurst Publishing, with intentions of launching similar branded titles in the North of England, rather than competing head to head. Gradually, a group of classified advertising titles evolved that were either wholly owned by Hurst Publishing or by Guardian Media Group, or jointly owned by the two organisations. From 1988 all automotive titles were branded Auto Trader. TMG continued to expand, and in 1995 launched Auto Trader in both Northern and Southern Ireland. Separately, in 1994-96 David Owen Smith launched Top Marques, followed by other national titles inclduing Bike Trader and Truck Trader.
In July 1998, the two partners in Hurst Publishing sold part of their business to the specialist European venture capitalists BC Partners
BC Partners
BC Partners is a private equity firm specialising in buyouts and acquisitions financing in Europe and the United States. The firm invests across all industries...
, who approached Guardian Media Group and proposed a merger to form a new over-arching company, which had complete ownership in all titles. Trader Media Group was launched in May 2000.
Acquisitions and expansion
- 1999 - acquired Classic American, mostly an editorial publication on American motors past and present
- 2000 - acquired the TNT Group, the market-leading publisher of titles for Australians, New Zealanders and South Africans in the UK.
- 2003 - BC Partners sold TMG to Guardian Media Group resulting in GMG having full ownership of TMG.
- 2005 - launched a new weekly publication Fusion Magazine for Central and Eastern Europeans living in the UK. Acquired carzone.ie in Ireland, and the appointed Jerry Fowden as new Chief Executive Officer.
- 2009 - acquired the motortrade bidding system autotrademail.com, originally developed in 1999 to help members of the motortrade sell and source trade vehicles online in realtime