Haymarket Media Group accelerates its presence in marcomms with strategic acquisition of Marketing Week, Creative Review, and Festival of Marketing

Haymarket Media Group has expanded its footprint in marketing communications by acquiring key titles from Centaur Media, signalling a significant move to strengthen its influence and resources in the sector amid ongoing industry consolidation.

Haymarket Media Group has strengthened its foothold in the marketing communications sector with the acquisition of Marketing Week, Creative Review, and the Festival of Marketing from Centaur Media. This move bolsters the company’s already prominent portfolio, which includes established titles such as Campaign, PRWeek, and Performance Marketing World, alongside its recent launch, In.Comms.

Founded in 1978, Marketing Week is a well-regarded publication delivering news, analysis, and insights tailored to senior marketing professionals. Its sister titles, Creative Review — established in 1980 — and the Festival of Marketing, launched in 2013, bring complementary creative and event platforms to Haymarket’s expanding marcomms landscape. According to Haymarket CEO Kevin Costello, these brands are “highly respected” and align seamlessly with the group’s commitment to serving specialist audiences. He expressed enthusiasm about the future, highlighting the combined strength and influence the acquisition brings to their sector presence.

The acquired brands will operate under Haymarket’s Business Media division, where they will initially remain as separate business units. Claire Rance, managing director of Marketing Week, Creative Review, and the Festival of Marketing, will continue in her leadership role, reporting to Donna Murphy, deputy managing director of Haymarket Business Media. Murphy remarked that the acquisition underscores Haymarket’s ambition within marcomms and their commitment to building on the strong heritage of these brands. She anticipates creating “exciting content and game-changing events” that will benefit clients and audiences alike.

Haymarket, with a history spanning more than six decades, has long been a staple in the sector, launching Campaign in 1968 and acquiring PRWeek in 1988. The company presently oversees more than 70 brands across diverse sectors including medical, energy, and environment, with global offices spanning the UK, US, Canada, Germany, the Netherlands, Hong Kong, Singapore, and India.

This acquisition comes as part of Centaur Media’s broader strategic review initiated at the end of 2024, which has seen the sale of several assets. These include Mark Ritson’s MiniMBA to Brave Bison, Oystercatchers to management, and The Lawyer to Legal Benchmarking. The sale of MWCR Limited—the operating entity for Marketing Week, Festival of Marketing, and Creative Review—to Haymarket is reported to be valued at approximately £3.9 million.

For the acquired titles, this transition offers an opportunity to harness Haymarket’s resources and scale, promising expanded editorial offerings and wider industry impact. Creative Review’s editor, Eliza Williams, welcomed the change, expressing optimism about strengthening and growing the brand under new ownership.

Overall, this transaction reinforces Haymarket Media Group’s position as a leader in specialist media serving marketing and creative professionals. It is set to enhance the company’s capacity to deliver unparalleled insights, remarkable content, and noteworthy events, thereby supporting the evolving needs of the marcomms community on a global scale.

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Source: Noah Wire Services

Noah Fact Check Pro

The draft above was created using the information available at the time the story first
emerged. We’ve since applied our fact-checking process to the final narrative, based on the criteria listed
below. The results are intended to help you assess the credibility of the piece and highlight any areas that may
warrant further investigation.

Freshness check

Score:
10

Notes:
The narrative is fresh, with the acquisition announced on 25 September 2025. The earliest known publication date of substantially similar content is also 25 September 2025. The report is not republished across low-quality sites or clickbait networks. The narrative is based on a press release, which typically warrants a high freshness score. No discrepancies in figures, dates, or quotes were found. No similar content appeared more than 7 days earlier. The article includes updated data and does not recycle older material.

Quotes check

Score:
10

Notes:
The direct quotes from Kevin Costello, Donna Murphy, and Claire Rance are unique to this report. No identical quotes appear in earlier material. The wording of the quotes matches the original sources. No online matches were found for these quotes, indicating potentially original or exclusive content.

Source reliability

Score:
10

Notes:
The narrative originates from Haymarket Media Group’s official website, a reputable organisation. The report is corroborated by other reputable outlets, including Marketing Week and Campaign US. All entities mentioned in the report, such as Haymarket Media Group, Marketing Week, Creative Review, and Festival of Marketing, have verifiable online presences.

Plausability check

Score:
10

Notes:
The acquisition of Marketing Week, Creative Review, and Festival of Marketing by Haymarket Media Group is plausible and aligns with recent industry trends. The report is covered by multiple reputable outlets, including Marketing Week and Campaign US. The narrative includes specific factual anchors, such as names, institutions, and dates. The language and tone are consistent with the region and topic. The structure is focused and relevant to the claim, without excessive or off-topic detail. The tone is formal and appropriate for corporate communication.

Overall assessment

Verdict (FAIL, OPEN, PASS): PASS

Confidence (LOW, MEDIUM, HIGH): HIGH

Summary:
The narrative is fresh, original, and corroborated by reputable sources. The quotes are unique, and the report is consistent with industry trends. All entities mentioned are verifiable, and the language and tone are appropriate. No credibility risks were identified.