Excel Publishing, probably best known in the region for its monthly business title EN, has picked up a clutch of new business contracts across the UK.
The company, based in central Manchester, has further offices in Leeds and Stockport, the latter a consequence of its acquisition of Imprint Publishing in August 2005.
With annual sales of £7m, the company is arguably second only in size to Newhall Publishing of Hoylake, in terms of the region’s independent publishing companies.
Set up by ad salesman Pat Rafter and journalist Martin Regan in the early 90s, the company now publishes 94 titles and stages a growing number of business events. It employs over 140 staff across the three offices.
The company’s roots were in construction and engineering titles and in a sector where, regionally at least, trade titles are largely advertorial, their editorially-led approach appeared to pay dividends as the company grew rapidly. Its leading titles included EN magazine (which it ultimately bought from Newsco, publisher of North West Business Insider), Builder and Engineer and Local Government Executive.
 John Cooper
2007 has seen the business win four new Chamber of Commerce magazines: North & Western Lancashire, the North East, North London and North & South Staffs.
The North West contract, worth £120k, to publish the Chamber’s bi-monthly title "Outlook", was won in competition with Ten Alps, its main national rival for publishing Chamber of Commerce titles. The Chamber’s remit covers Preston, Ormskirk, Blackpool, Leyland, Morcambe, Lancaster and Skelmersdale.
The North East contract (a monthly title called Contact), worth £1.25m over five years, saw Excel beating off competition from Ten Alps and Redactive of London and the previous publisher, Trinity Mirror’s Tyneside publishing base.
The North London publication, backed by the North London Chamber, the London Development Agency and four borough councils: Barnet, Enfield, Haringey and Waltham Forest, will be an entirely new publication.
The final new contract win, North & South Staffs, is worth £150k and was won in competition with a local publisher and once again Ten Alps.
In total, Excel now publishes 15 Chamber titles, including Liverpool and St Helens in the North West. It used to publish the Manchester Chamber title but lost out to Redactive. A consequence of the subsequent acrimonious fall out with the Manchester Chamber led to Excel launching a rival title, GM Commerce, which the company claims is doing well.
It is understood that Redactive has recently resigned the Manchester contract and the Chamber is in the process of issuing a tender for the contract.
The company’s largest contract however, is not with a Chamber title, but with RIBA (Royal Institute of British Architects) which it won a few years ago. Cooper said that contract, the length of which he wouldn’t disclose, is worth £1.6m a year in sales.
Excel is owned by Rafter, Regan and Pat Quinn – who published a number of the Autotrader titles before selling out to GMEN. Quinn owned Imprint Publishing before its sale to Excel and he now chairs the company and has a 4% stake. Rafter and Regan hold the balance equally.
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