Lewis Business Media has acquired Grove House Publishing, including Farm Business magazine, other farming related titles and business events.
The sale for an undisclosed sum comprises the trade and assets of Grove House Publishing from Zinc Media, formerly Ten Alps Publishing.
The acquisition includes four print titles, namely Farm Business; Agronomist & Arable Farmer; Over the Counter; and Pig and Poultry Marketing.
Events included in the acquisition include the Food and Farming Awards; Cream Awards; Over the Counter Awards; and Pig and Poultry Marketing Awards.
Several conferences and smaller events have also been acquired.
LBM group managing director John Lewis said: “We are delighted to have made this acquisition which is a good fit with our existing agricultural portfolio.
“Grove House has some very well established brands in this sector and we will be looking to build upon this strength in the medium term.”
Mr Lewis added: “We do not plan to make any redundancies among existing staff, and look forward to welcoming them into our company.”
Caroline and Alan Whibley, former owners and managers of Grove House, will work with LBM as consultants to help the transfer of knowledge and integration into the business.
Mr Whibley described the acquisition as “very positive”, saying he and Caroline would continue to work on the portfolio with LBM at least until the end of the year.
“In particular, Caroline and I will continue to organise our events, therefore it will be business as usual for the events already planned for this year.”
LBM is a business launched in 2012 by John Lewis, who has 35 years’ experience in media, previously working for Haymarket Media Group, UBM and William Reed Business Media.
Based at Uckfield, Sussex, the business is active in several market areas, including agriculture, retail and distribution, the arts and graduate recruitment.
