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Over the last five years we’ve reported on thousands of company sales and acquisitions. And this time we’re delighted to report on one which involves us personally.

In May Business & Innovation Magazine was acquired by Black Ox Ltd, a relatively new entrant into the regional business publishing sector. But they know a quality product when they see it, and they want us to continue to do what we’ve been doing successfully for five years – supporting and reporting on companies and business activities across our region (Gloucestershire, Oxfordshire, Worcestershire, North Wiltshire, Bristol, Coventry and Warwickshire), and hosting business events which get us all meeting and talking in person again.

Both directors (Nicky and Kirsty) continue to work full time on Business & Innovation Magazine, and with the backing of our new owners, we are already getting out and about more as the world returns to some sort of normal after the pandemic.

Who are Black Ox Media & Events? The company is a subsidiary of Branscombe Group, a private family-owned company which unites forward-thinking media businesses and supports their growth ambitions – and we’ve still got plenty of those.

Black Ox was established last year, and its first major purchase was The Business Magazine, a well-established title covering the Thames Valley and the South East. It immediately made a substantial investment in the title’s digital offering and plans on returning the magazine to print later this year, as we did last year at

Business & Innovation Magazine, following the Covid-enforced pause in print.

Their investment in our magazine is a big vote of confidence in regional business media. Good quality regional magazines are exceptionally effective at serving business communities. They deliver a healthy dose of positivity and information along with essential regional news to inform people and companies. With Black Ox behind us, we are planning for growth again – and it feels fantastic.

Inside this issue we highlight two key sectors: manufacturing and agritech.

Despite those gloom-mongers who say we don’t make anything anymore, the UK remains the ninth largest manufacturing nation in the world and has an annual output of £183 billion.

In 2021, the UK saw more than $1.3 billion invested in agritech. That sounds a lot, until we tell you that in Germany the figure was more than double – at $3 billion.

British farmers produce 61 per cent of the nation’s food and provide jobs for around four million people in the UK. But if we are to produce more of what we eat, we’re going to have to do more with less, and that’s where agritech comes in.

We’re also delighted to include reports from social business events across the region. From the Gloucestershire Local Enterprise Partnership’s annual review, held on an aeroplane, to the Oxfordshire Business Awards at Oxford Brookes University, it feels wonderful to be able to meet in person again.

Godding Print Editor

Kirsty Muir Head of Print and Advertising