Haymarket buys leading horticulture title Grower

by Ben Bold, Brand Republic 23-Nov-06, 11:00

LONDON - Haymarket Publications has bought Grower magazine, the weekly publication dedicated to the UK's produce growing industry, from Nexus Media.

As part of the package, Haymarket will acquire the title's related properties -- Horticulture Directory, Grower of the Year Awards, Garden Centre and Retail Awards and the industry exhibition Fruit Focus.

The title adds to Haymarket's portfolio of horticulture titles, which includes Horticulture Week, the UK's leading magazine for the ornamental horticulture market, and Taspo, Germany's highest-circulation newspaper for horticulture.

Stephen Farish, Haymarket Professional's managing director, said: "Our acquisition of Grower further strengthens our portfolio of market-leading horticulture titles and we are delighted to welcome the publication and its related brands into the group. We look forward to building on Grower's expertise in the edible horticulture sector to ensure the continued delivery of high quality content to this important industry."

Neil Thackray, Nexus's chief executive, said: "We are proud of the success we have had with Grower and wish the title continued success as part of the Haymarket group. We are confident that Haymarket's expertise in the horticultural industry will ensure the further development of this strong brand."

Separately, the Haymarket Network-published manutd.com website was last night named Online Publishing Solution of The Year at the Association of Publishing Agencies' Customer Publishing Awards 2006.

The panel of judges, made up of the UK's top marketing directors, believed the site was a genuine part of the Manchester United marketing strategy and achieved superior interaction with its customers.

If you have an opinion on this or any other issue raised on Brand Republic, join the debate in the Forum.