Publican merges with Morning Advertiser

William Reed Business Media (WRBM), owner of the Morning Advertiser, has bought The Publican and will merge the two magazines from 7 April.

The two magazines are the most respected in the sector and the merger will create a stronger single title — to be called The Publican's Morning Advertiser — combining the best items of content from each magazine, website and set of events.

The move will create a single, stronger voice in representing the pub trade and far greater value for commercial supporters and advertisers.

This merger means that WRBM employs the largest group of journalists reporting on the UK on-trade, a team of 20 experts.

Events will be complementary and will serve a wider variety of niches within the market.

And there will be one website, containing the best features of both, giving licensees, suppliers and HQs a single portal into the most comprehensive collection of authored reports, news and retail advice the industry has to offer.

Tim Brooke-Webb, executive director of WRBM's hospitality division, said: "We believe the merger of Morning Advertiser and The Publican is fantastic news for our readers and commercial partners, creating a single, unified platform for those partners to communicate with an increased high-quality readership."

The new title, The Publican's Morning Advertiser, was the original name for the newspaper when it was launched in 1794.