February 1, 2018 –  The Financial Times has acquired a majority stake in Longitude, a specialist provider of thought leadership and research services to a multinational corporate and institutional client base.

This investment builds on the Financial Times’ recent growth in several business areas, including subscription sales (paid-for readers now exceed 910,000), branded content via the acquisition of Alpha Grid, and conferences and events through Financial Times Live.  It extends the FT’s traditional commercial offering into a wider set of integrated services.

Financial Times CEO John Ridding said: “Longitude’s professional culture and reputation for quality sets it apart and makes it an ideal partner for the Financial Times.  There is a natural synergy between our two businesses and aligning Longitude’s expertise and innovative approach with the Financial Times’ global audience and distribution will be of great benefit for our commercial clients.”

Longitude’s product offering spans three areas: Advisory, a set of services that helps clients to plan and execute effective and differentiated thought leadership campaigns; Research, which encompasses surveys, interview programmes, data modelling and desk research; and Content, which covers multi-format thought leadership campaigns, spanning reports, articles, opinion pieces, visual and interactive content.