- Not to be confused with the Guardian Enterprise Group, an American media company (see .2 Network).
Guardian Media Group plc (GMG) is a British mass media company owning various media operations including The Guardian and The Observer. The group is wholly owned by Scott Trust Limited, which exists to secure the financial and editorial independence of The Guardian in perpetuity.
History
The company was founded as the Manchester Guardian Ltd in 1907 when C. P. Scott bought the Manchester Guardian (founded in 1821) from the estate of his cousin Edward Taylor.
It became the Manchester Guardian and Evening News Ltd when it bought out the Manchester Evening News in 1924, later becoming the Guardian and Manchester Evening News Ltd to reflect the change in the morning paper's title. It adopted its current name in 1993.
In March 2007 GMG sold 49.9% of Trader Media Group to Apax Partners, in a deal that valued Trader Media Group at £1.35 billion. In December 2007 it was announced that GMG and Apax had made a successful bid to buy Emap's business-to-business arm for around £1 billion.
In February 2010, the group sold its GMG Regional Media division (consisting of two companies MEN Media and S&B Media which operated 31 local and regional newspaper titles) to Trinity Mirror for £44.8 million. The sale ended the historic connection between The Guardian and Manchester as the sale of the Manchester Evening News was included in the package. The division's local television station for Greater Manchester, Channel M, and two newspapers in Woking were not included in the sale.
In June 2012, Global Radio acquired GMG Radio from Guardian Media Group plc.
In January 2014, GMG disposed of its remaining interest in Trader Media Group.
Carolyn McCall was formerly the Chief Executive of Guardian News and Media Limited. She left in June 2010 after being appointed Chief Executive of EasyJet. She was replaced by Andrew Miller in July 2010, who had previously been Chief Financial Officer of the Group.
Group structure
GMG’s core business is Guardian News & Media, publisher of theguardian.com, as well as The Guardian and The Observer newspapers.
The group has a portfolio of investments to help support its journalism. They comprise:
- Top Right Group (formerly Emap): an international business-to-business digital intelligence and events business, also jointly owned by GMG and Apax Partners.
- GMG Property Services: a provider of software, technology and design solutions to the property industry.
- An externally managed investment fund.
Guardian Media Group exists to support the core purpose of its owner, Scott Trust Limited: to secure the financial and editorial independence of The Guardian in perpetuity, but in the 2011/12 year the group lost £75.6 million, and for the three years up to June 2012, the paper itself lost £100,000 a day - leading Intelligent Life magazine to question whether The Guardian can survive.
Corporate governance
Board of directors
The board of directors are:
- Neil Berkett (Chairman)
- Andrew Miller (Chief Executive Officer)
- Alan Rusbridger (Editor-in-chief)
- Nick Backhouse
- Judy Gibbons
- Brent Hoberman
- Nigel Morris
- Darren Singer (Chief Financial Officer)
- Phil Tranter (Company secretary)
Executive committee
- GMG Executive Committee
References
External links
- Official website
- Guardian website
- TMG website
- GMG Property Services website