National World has boosted its regional media portfolio with two further buys.

The news group has acquired regional business-to-business specialist Insider Media for an undisclosed sum.

Insider Media majority shareholder Marlen Roberts is retiring. 

She said: “The current shareholders wanted to ensure that the company had a strong future and National World is a buyer that will continue to invest in high-quality content as well as the business infrastructure and the people". 

In its most recent accounts, for the year ending 31 December 2022, Insider Media had sales of £6.3m and made an operating profit of £635,000.

It has six regional business magazines and associated online channels, and holds more than 90 local events and breakfast seminars.

National World said that for the remaining eight months of this year post-acquisition, it expected the Insider Media brands to achieve sales of £5.6m and EBITDA of £1m prior to exceptionals. 

The other buy is the Rotherham Advertiser, which National World said would complement the group’s reach across the “South Yorkshire, Derbyshire and North Nottinghamshire markets”.

It acquired the title from Regional Media, which is owned by former Garnett Dickinson CEO Nick Alexander. 

The acquisitions were funded from National World’s own cash resources. The £84m turnover group has also made the final deferred payment of £2.5m for the 2021 purchase of JPI Media Group since its financial year-end, and said it still has “in excess of £20m” of cash in the bank. 

National World chairman David Montgomery commented: "Over the last 12 months we have made a number of targeted investments and acquisitions designed to accelerate our progress, increase our capabilities and grow the audience for our high-quality content.

"National World offers a unique combination of digital news, specialist content and targeted audience engagement, helping it build deeper relationships with its readers and users. Today's acquisitions are in line with that strategy as we reposition the business towards our new operating model.”

In March Montgomery hinted that National World could turn to digital printing as part of an operational revamp to become a “digital-only” business.

Its shares rose by 2.12% to 21.24p on the news (52-week high: 27.40p, low: 14.90p).