'What a year': News Letter owner posts £137.6m turnover following acquisition
Media Concierge group, the company behind the News Letter, remained profitable following its acquisition, contributing to group turnover of £137.6 million and EBITDA of £12.9 million
The owner of the News Letter has reported strong financial results as it revealed progress on the integration of Iconic Media Group, formerly National World Publishing, following its acquisition by Media Concierge Group in May 2025.
Media Concierge Group, the UK and Ireland media holding company, continued to trade strongly, delivering EBITDA of £12.9m, with group turnover for the 12 months ending 30 September 2025 increasing to £137.6m, compared with £113.5m in 2024. The group also reported a gross profit margin of 23.7%.
Iconic Media Group produced an underlying EBITDA of £3.9m before exceptional items for the nine months to September 30 2025, demonstrating the resilience of the core business through a period dominated by transaction-related costs. Following its acquisition by Media Concierge Group, National World Publishing Limited was renamed Iconic Media Group Limited and a new board was appointed in May 2025, bringing the business under the same ownership structure as Media Concierge’s other UK and Ireland publishing businesses. Iconic Media Group’s titles span print and digital publishing across Scotland, Northern Ireland, the North East, North West, Yorkshire, the Midlands and the South of England, including long-established regional titles such as the Express & Star, The Scotsman, News Letter and the Yorkshire Post.
The News Letter is one of Northern Ireland's main daily newspapers and is the world's oldest English-language general daily newspaper still in publication, having first been printed in 1737. Malcolm Denmark, chief executive officer of Media Concierge Group, said: “What a year. The existing businesses within the group continued to grow and perform well, and the integration of National World has proved very successful. “There were, of course, one-off costs that came with the acquisition. Even taking those into account, the business was highly profitable throughout the period. Our focus now is on completing the integration properly and building on the strength of these titles, their journalism and the trust they have in their local communities.” The accounts cover a nine-month transition period to September 30 2025, reflecting the alignment of Iconic Media Group’s year-end with Media Concierge Group’s reporting timetable. As a result, the period’s figures are not directly comparable with Iconic Media Group’s prior 52-week period to December 28 2024.