Skip Links

Financial Times Group - around the business

History

The Financial Times newspaper launched in 1888, declaring itself: 'The friend of the honest financier, the bona fide investor, the respectable broker, the genuine director, the legitimate speculator.'

The newspaper is now printed in 23 cities, with four editions: for the UK, Continental Europe, US and Asia-Pacific and an award-winning online presence in FT.com. The FT has a daily circulation of over 425,000 and a readership of approximately 1.4 million, across 110 countries. In print and online, the FT has more paying readers today than at any time in its history.

A growing global audience

The aim of the FT is to deliver the most accurate, incisive and timely business journalism to an increasingly mobile audience of global business leaders, and to ensure that our advertisers communicate effectively with this elite group. Readers rely on the FT to present a holistic analysis of global business and financial news - our global editorial network ensures we're able to join the dots between the regions. The FT's value lies in its ability to make connections and make the information relevant, whether the reader is in Sydney or San Francisco. It is this ability to collate, analyse and comment on the issues which sets us apart.

In recent years, we've seen the FT significantly expand its presence on the global stage. In 2003, we launched an Asia edition in print and online, establishing a news editing operation in Hong Kong. This now forms part of the FT's global editing network, alongside New York and London. The Asia-Pacific edition has continued to grow and is now also printed in Sydney, making the FT the first international daily to print in Australia. The FT's Chinese language website, www.FTChinese.com, has also built a formidable reputation amongst China's fast-rising business elite.

In 2004, we celebrated the 25th anniversary of our European edition. From the days when the FT was delivered to key European cities by specially designed Citroën vans, we now print in 23 sites across the world, with two-thirds of our circulation outside of the UK.

The future of the FT

Over 100 years after its launch in 1888, the FT continues to top the global readership surveys and attracts a raft of prestigious editorial awards each year. Our 24 hour news cycle enables us to follow a story as it breaks and report on its impact across the globe. Intra-day services such as a news and desktop alerts ensure that customers and readers stay ahead throughout the day. FT.com has 3.2 million unique monthly users and 84,000 paying subscribers. The FT is committed to maintaining its position as the definitive business information brand for today's international business audience.

Europe's business newspapers

The FT Group's pan-European network of national business newspapers and online services include France's leading business newspaper and website, Les Echos and lesechos.fr, and FT Deutschland with its fully integrated online business news and data service.

Les Echos is the leading business newspaper in France, with a circulation of over 119,000. It led the competition with more than 25% share of its advertising market for the first quarter of 2005. Groupe Les Echos also publishes Enjeux-Les-Echos, a leading economics monthly.

In Germany - the world's third largest economy - rapid social, economic and corporate change has fuelled a greater demand for the FT's style of business information and analysis. In 2000, we launched FT Deutschland in partnership with Gruner + Jahr. The first national newspaper to be launched in Germany for more than 50 years, and the first non-English newspaper to carry the FT name, in just five years FT Deutschland's circulation has risen to over 100,000 copies.

FT Business

FT Business produces specialist information on the retail, personal and institutional finance industries. It publishes the UK's premier personal finance magazine, Investors Chronicle, and The Banker, Money Management and Financial Adviser for professional advisers.

The numbers behind the stories

Through a controlling interest in Interactive Data Corporation (NYSE: IDC), we are one of the world's leading sources of securities pricing and specialist financial information to institutional, professional and individual investors. Interactive Data Corporation is a leading global provider of securities pricing, financial information and analytic tools to institutional and individual investors. The company supplies time-sensitive pricing, dividend, corporate action and descriptive information for more than 3.5 million securities traded around the world, including hard-to-value instruments. Many of the world's best known financial service and software companies subscribe to the company's services to support their trading, analysis, portfolio management and valuation activities.

The FT Group also has a number of other associates and joint ventures, including:

For recent news about the FT Group, click here