Supporting the growth of rail organisations

David McLoughlin, Rail Business Daily’s Chief Executive Officer, discusses the business acquiring Rail Alliance

It has been described as one of the biggest mergers in the UK rail industry in 2021. With the dust having settled on the announcement that Rail Business Daily (RBD) acquired Rail Alliance from the University of Birmingham, attention now turns to what this means.

“Our portfolio development team has long regarded Rail Alliance as a perfect match for our business,” said Rail Business Daily’s Chief Executive Officer David McLoughlin.

“This fantastic deal comes at a perfect time for us and the RBD Community as we support our customers in capitalising on heightened UK rail market opportunities, including the industry’s transition to Great British Railways.”

The combination will substantially increase RBD’s community offer, which has already seen more than 200 rail organisations sign up to the company’s business support service since June 2021. Led by Eli Rees-King, more than 800 Rail Alliance members have now transferred over to RBD Community.

Dynamic combination David added: “It is a move that will uniquely position RBD to support the growth of organisations through a dynamic combination of symbiotic services all designed to help organisations position themselves to win more work and to grow in line with their business aspirations.

“We are already a trusted partner to hundreds of companies, offering a range of services designed to support long-term success. As well as expert advisors in a range of key business growth areas, from business development and investment to online and offline marketing and recruitment services, we are also UK rail’s biggest and most powerful rail online/offline media and publishing business.”

It has been some journey so far for Rail Business Daily. The company was set up in 2017 with the aspirations to create a service that was a force for good in the rail industry and to champion the great businesses that make such a positive difference.

We are already a trusted partner to hundreds of companies, offering a range of services

From a standing start nearly five years ago, Rail Business Daily has expanded into five symbiotic business divisions – each a success in its own right:

RBD Advisory – pipeline and introduction, work winning, business growth, commercialisation and product to market;

RBD Marketing – corporate positioning, content, design, web, social media, photography, videography and animations; RBD Media – online and offline profile enhancement services;

RBD Community – a community designed to bring people and organisations together for profile raising opportunities and to support business growth and work pipeline development. There is full calendar of events taking place during 2022 backed by an online platform with resources and market intelligence that can accessed by members;

RBD Stride and Rail Recruiter – white and blue collar online and offline recruitment.

Achievements “It is only really when I stop to catch my breath that it really hits home how much has been achieved and the impact we are having on the rail industry,” said David, who has held a number of high-profile roles at the likes of Network Rail, Spencer, KPMG and Amey prior to Rail Business Daily.

“Our aim was to create a platform that was easy to use, affordable and impactful for organisations big and small – to show the fantastic things they are doing, to help them win more business and to progressively raise their profile.

“Although I’m ever the optimist and very ambitious, never did I expect to be in the situation we are in now in such a short space of time, but the team and I are driven by a passion to help organisations succeed and to prove wrong the doubters of what we can achieve.

“We’re proud to be part of the fabric of rail business life with a great many fantastic clients. Our new relationship with former Rail Alliance members will add so much more value to so many organisations and we look forward to forging close working relationships over the coming weeks and months.

“Whether they are looking for support to take their business to the next level, advice on taking a great idea to market or support in getting their name out there, we can help them to unlock the true potential of any rail business.”

Expansion of business The takeover of Rail Alliance capped off an incredible year for Rail Business Daily. Buoyed by the success of its first magazine in 2020 – Rail Director – the company announced the appointment of Managing Editor Nigel Wordsworth, who has since launched a second magazine, Inside Track.

Last year also saw the expansion of Rail Business Daily’s growing service portfolio with a unique collaborative alliance with one of the UK’s leading rail and construction recruitment specialists – Stride Resourcing – creating RBD Stride.

There were also the appointments of Eli ReesKing and Rachel Woodman to launch RBD Community.

Towards the end of the year, as well as the acquisition of Rail Alliance, RBD Community joined forces with Achilles to offer customers a one-off discounted price to access an extensive range of products and services, and Martin Little was appointed Chief Operating Officer of RBD Advisory.

“I think it is fair to see it has been an eventful year for everyone involved with Rail Business Daily and the organisation has grown exponentially since we first launched the business four years ago,” said David.

“My aspiration was to become the go-to partner for developing business in rail and I firmly believe we have successfully established ourselves in that role.

“We are always looking at ways we can offer additional routes of support for rail companies, which is proven by the acquisitions and appointments made in the past 12 months.

“This is only the beginning and we have several irons in the fire with more to be revealed in the coming months.

“Despite our expansion, our ethos will remain the same. We want to keep on telling good news stories and helping companies to raise their profile – above all we want to encourage people working in the railways to talk with each other and work together.”

Supporting growth Created to be a force of good within the UK rail industry, David and the team’s passion goes beyond supporting clients, with the business also assisting organisations that perform an invaluable service in the community and across the rail industry including Railway Children, Women’s Aid, Women in Rail and White Ribbon.

David said: “Each of these charities makes an immeasurable difference to vulnerable people in different areas of society – people, often women and children, who desperately need help to stop the cycle of abuse they find themselves in and regain their freedom, independence and self-respect, so that they may live a full and happy life.

“In addition to supporting these different causes, we have also signed the Disability Confident charter.

“We are devoted to promoting diversity and inclusion throughout our own business and those we work with.

“As RBD continues to grow, we want our positive action for the industry to grow. Our platforms provide us with the opportunity to make a real, measurable difference and we will continue to support all our causes and more in the years to come as part of our group strategy.”

We’re proud to be part of the fabric of rail business life with a great many fantastic clients