Mark Allen acquires agricultural brands from Lewis Business Media

The Mark Allen Group says the agricultural assets: Pig World, Poultry Business, Agronomist & Arable Farmer, Farm Contractor & Large Scale Farmer, Weekly Tribune and the newly launched event, Women in Agriculture, will sit alongside Farmers Weekly in MA Agriculture Limited, one of eight operating companies in Mark Allen, which is based in Sutton. Simon Lewis, the managing director of the company founded by his parents, John and Elizabeth Lewis, will remain with the business for a short time, principally to deliver the National Pig Awards which take place in London later this month.

The Lewis assets will add appreciably to the group’s farming interests, providing greater specialist depth in the pig, poultry, arable and contractor markets, areas which already feature more broadly in Mark Allen’s farming publication, Farmers Weekly. The deal allows the Lewis family to continue to publish a range of other non-agricultural titles, including Retail Destination, Pet Business World, Over the Counter, Pest, Hospitality Interiors, The SubPostmaster, PHU/PRA market report and TheJobCrowd.

Ben Allen, the CEO of Mark Allen, said: “This is a fantastic acquisition for us. It extends the reach of Farmers Weekly, providing extensive opportunities, synergies and cover. Despite challenges in the market, the Lewis farming assets have performed very strongly, demonstrating the strength of these brands. They will make a tremendous addition to Farmers Weekly. It has been a very smooth and collaborative transaction, and I have particularly enjoyed working with Simon on this deal, who shares the same values in running a family business which we ascribe to.”

Simon Lewis said: “We are delighted to have concluded this agreement with the Mark Allen Group. We have very much enjoyed publishing in these markets and would like to thank all those who worked with us over the period, a number of whom have become good friends. We do not think that there could be a better fit for this group of brands than the Mark Allen stable and look forward to watching them flourish in their new environment. Our experience of everyone we have dealt with at the Mark Allen Group during this process, especially Mark and Ben, has been nothing but positive, and we wish them well in the future.”