Metropolis International Group Limited, established in 1994, is a predominantly UK-based media and technology group that specializes in business, consumer, and travel media including awards, events, websites, business software, and reward and benefit programs. It currently has 300 employees with offices in
West London
West London is the western part of London, England, north of the River Thames, west of the City of London, and extending to the Greater London boundary.
The term is used to differentiate the area from the other parts of London: Central London, N ...
,
Croydon
Croydon is a large town in South London, England, south of Charing Cross. Part of the London Borough of Croydon, a Districts of England, local government district of Greater London; it is one of the largest commercial districts in Greater Lond ...
,
Bolton
Bolton ( , locally ) is a town in Greater Manchester in England. In the foothills of the West Pennine Moors, Bolton is between Manchester, Blackburn, Wigan, Bury, Greater Manchester, Bury and Salford. It is surrounded by several towns and vill ...
,
Chester
Chester is a cathedral city in Cheshire, England, on the River Dee, Wales, River Dee, close to the England–Wales border. With a built-up area population of 92,760 in 2021, it is the most populous settlement in the borough of Cheshire West an ...
,
Dublin
Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...
,
Acton and
New York City
New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...
. The company's headquarters are currently located in
Acton and
West London
West London is the western part of London, England, north of the River Thames, west of the City of London, and extending to the Greater London boundary.
The term is used to differentiate the area from the other parts of London: Central London, N ...
.
Business publishing
Metropolis publishes several business-focused titles including:
*''
Architects' Journal
''Architects' Journal'' is a professional architecture magazine, published monthly in London by Metropolis International. Each issue includes in-depth features on relevant current affairs, alongside profiles of recently completed buildings. Ten t ...
'' – a weekly architectural magazine, first published in London in 1896, purchased by Metropolis International from
Ascential
Ascential (formerly EMAP) was a British-headquartered global company, specialising in events, intelligence and advisory services for the marketing and financial technology industries. It was listed on the London Stock Exchange until it was acq ...
in June 2017.
*''The
Architectural Review
''The Architectural Review'' is a monthly international architectural magazine. It has been published in London since 1896. Its articles cover the built environment – which includes landscape, building design, interior design and urbanism � ...
'' is a monthly international architectural magazine published in London since 1896. Like AJ, it was acquired by Metropolis from Ascential in 2017.
*''AV magazine'' – ''AV magazine'' was launched in 1972 for the professional audio-visual sector. The AV portfolio includes AV and AV Europe magazines, the AV Powerbook Directory and numerous supplements.
*''Building Products'' – Established in 1976, ''Building Products'' is read by professionals working within the specification chain of the UK construction industry. The magazine highlights products and innovations and their application in projects.
*''
Construction News
''Construction News'' is a monthly publication, plus digital and events services, primarily targeting the United Kingdom construction industry.
History Early history
The magazine was first published as ''Labour News'' on 30 August 1871, having b ...
'' – Established originally in 1871, the once weekly print publication primarily covered the United Kingdom construction industry. The title was acquired by Metropolis from Ascential in 2017.
*''
Drapers
Draper was originally a term for a retailer or wholesaler of cloth that was mainly for clothing. A draper may additionally operate as a cloth merchant or a haberdasher.
History
Drapers were an important trade guild during the medieval period ...
'' – Formerly ''Drapers Record'', founded in 1887, ''Drapers'' is a business magazine and website covering the
fashion
Fashion is a term used interchangeably to describe the creation of clothing, footwear, Fashion accessory, accessories, cosmetics, and jewellery of different cultural aesthetics and their mix and match into Clothing, outfits that depict distinct ...
retail
Retail is the sale of goods and services to consumers, in contrast to wholesaling, which is the sale to business or institutional customers. A retailer purchases goods in large quantities from manufacturers, directly or through a wholes ...
sector, acquired by Metropolis in June 2017.
*''Duty Free News International'' – Established in 1987, ''Duty Free News International'' is a monthly subscription-based news publication for the global travel-retail industry. It offers coverage of industry issues with news, analysis and features.
*Ground Engineering – Established in 1968, ''Ground Engineering'' is the official magazine of the British Geotechnical Association and is published monthly. It was acquired from Ascential by Metropolis in June 2017.
*''Independent Retail News'' – Established in 1995, ''Independent Retail News'' is a fortnightly magazine for owners of independent convenience stores.
*''IEM (previously Industrial Exchange & Mart)'' – Established in 1975 and focuses on buying and selling of new and used industrial and commercial products and services.
*''
Irish Medical Times
The ''Irish Medical Times'' is an weekly newspaper for Irish physicians. It was founded in 1967 by John O'Connell, who went on to become the Minister for Health.
The paper contains news, features, clinical articles, interviews and opinion pie ...
'' and
MIMS Ireland
*''The Landscaper'' – Established in 1998 is a magazine for the landscaping industry’s professionals.
*The ''
Local Government Chronicle
The ''Local Government Chronicle'' (''LGC'') is a British weekly magazine for local government officers, and is published by Metropolis. The magazine was launched in 1855 by bookseller and publisher Charles Knight. It was then published by Em ...
'' (LGC) is a British weekly magazine for local government officers launched in 1855 and acquired by Metropolis in June 2017.
*''Mortgage Finance Gazette'' – Established in 1869 as the ''Building Societies Gazette'', ''Mortgage Finance Gazette'' has been a publication for the mortgage lending industry for over 140 years.
*''Motor Trader'' – Established in 1904, ''Motor Trader'' is for automotive industry professionals. It focuses on the issues behind the headlines presenting analysis about what is impacting dealers, repairers and car manufacturers.
*''National Plant Hire Guide'' – was first published in 1961 and was quickly established as a directory for the UK plant hire industry. This online directory is split into plant hire equipment and service categories.
*''
New Civil Engineer
''New Civil Engineer'' is the monthly magazine for members of the Institution of Civil Engineers (ICE), the UK chartered body that oversees the practice of civil engineer
A civil engineer is a person who practices civil engineering – the appl ...
'' – First published in May 1972, NCE is the monthly magazine for members of the
Institution of Civil Engineers
The Institution of Civil Engineers (ICE) is an independent professional association for civil engineers and a Charitable organization, charitable body in the United Kingdom. Based in London, ICE has over 92,000 members, of whom three-quarters ar ...
, and was acquired by Metropolis in June 2017.
*''
Nursing Times
''Nursing Times'' is a website and monthly magazine for nurses, which is published in the United Kingdom. It covers original nursing research and best practice for nurses at all stages in their career, as well as daily news, opinion and other inf ...
'' is a monthly magazine for nurses in the United Kingdom. Acquired by Metropolis in June 2017.
*''Packaging News'' – Established in 1957 is a source of news and analysis covering business issues, production, design and innovation in the UK packaging supply chain.
*''
Property Week
''Property Week'' is a UK business-to-business magazine which reports on the worldwide commercial and residential property market. It reports news, features and analysis and the latest information from the industry - from development opportuniti ...
'' – Published by
UBM plc
UBM plc was a British business-to-business (B2B) events organiser headquartered in London, England, before its acquisition by Informa in 2018. It had a long history as a multinational media company. Its main focus was on B2B events, but its p ...
until September 2013, when it was acquired by Metropolis.
*''UK Boarding Schools Guide'' – Established in 1995 offers aimed marketing for domestic and international recruitment to UK boarding schools.
Subsequent with acquisition of titles from Ascential, Metropolis International placed them into a subsidiary, Emap Publishing Ltd.
Diamond Publishing Ltd
Diamond Publishing Ltd is the consumer publishing arm of the group and produces a number of publications and
website
A website (also written as a web site) is any web page whose content is identified by a common domain name and is published on at least one web server. Websites are typically dedicated to a particular topic or purpose, such as news, educatio ...
s.
*''
Record Collector
''Record Collector'' is a British monthly music magazine focussing on rare and collectable records, and the bands who recorded them. It was founded in September 1979 and distributes worldwide. It is promoted as "the world’s leading authority o ...
'' is the UK’s longest running monthly
music magazine
A music magazine is a magazine dedicated to music and culture in music cognition, music culture. Such magazines typically include music news, interviews, photo shoots, essays, record reviews, concert reviews and occasionally have a covermount with ...
; it also produces the sector’s 'bible' "''The Rare Record Price Guide''" which is available in
book
A book is a structured presentation of recorded information, primarily verbal and graphical, through a medium. Originally physical, electronic books and audiobooks are now existent. Physical books are objects that contain printed material, ...
form and via online subscription.
*''Best of British'' is the UK's leading nostalgia monthly magazine
*''
Cyclist
Cycling, also known as bicycling or biking, is the activity of riding a bicycle or other types of pedal-driven human-powered vehicles such as balance bikes, unicycles, tricycles, and quadricycles. Cycling is practised around the world fo ...
'' – British cycling magazine
*''
Fortean Times
''Fortean Times'' is a British monthly magazine devoted to the anomalous phenomena popularised by Charles Fort. Previously published by John Brown Publishing (from 1991 to 2001), I Feel Good Publishing (from 2001 to 2005), Dennis Publishing (from ...
'' – British magazine dedicated to anomalous phenomena
*''
Viz'' –
British comic magazine
Travel publishing
Since its foundation in 1994, Metropolis International has published ''For Less Compact Guides''. Metropolis have launched these
guides
A guide is a person who leads travelers, sportspeople, or tourists through unknown or unfamiliar locations. The term can also be applied to a person who leads others to more abstract goals such as knowledge or wisdom.
Travel and recreation
Exp ...
for over 35 locations including
London
London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...
,
Amsterdam
Amsterdam ( , ; ; ) is the capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, largest city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It has a population of 933,680 in June 2024 within the city proper, 1,457,018 in the City Re ...
,
Madrid
Madrid ( ; ) is the capital and List of largest cities in Spain, most populous municipality of Spain. It has almost 3.5 million inhabitants and a Madrid metropolitan area, metropolitan area population of approximately 7 million. It i ...
,
Thailand
Thailand, officially the Kingdom of Thailand and historically known as Siam (the official name until 1939), is a country in Southeast Asia on the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese Peninsula. With a population of almost 66 million, it spa ...
and a variety of other countries and cities. The
map
A map is a symbolic depiction of interrelationships, commonly spatial, between things within a space. A map may be annotated with text and graphics. Like any graphic, a map may be fixed to paper or other durable media, or may be displayed on ...
s feature a complete street index accompanied by an
underground
Underground most commonly refers to:
* Subterranea (geography), the regions beneath the surface of the Earth
Underground may also refer to:
Places
* Buenos Aires Underground, a rapid transit system
* London Underground, a rapid transit system
* ...
/
metro
Metro may refer to:
Geography
* Metro City (Indonesia), a city in Indonesia
* A metropolitan area, the populated region including and surrounding an urban center
Public transport
* Rapid transit, a passenger railway in an urban area with high ...
map on the reverse, now also provided online and as apps.
Smartsave

Launched in 2009, Smartsave.com is Metropolis’ self-proclaimed flagship discounts website, specializing in family
day trip
A day trip is a visit to a tourist destination or visitor attraction from a person's home, hotel, or hostel in the morning, returning to the same lodging in the evening. The day trip is a form of recreational travel and leisure to a location t ...
savings. The site also offers price reductions on
restaurants
A restaurant is an establishment that prepares and serves food and drinks to customers. Meals are generally served and eaten on the premises, but many restaurants also offer take-out and food delivery services. Restaurants vary greatly in app ...
,
hotel
A hotel is an establishment that provides paid lodging on a short-term basis. Facilities provided inside a hotel room may range from a modest-quality mattress in a small room to large suites with bigger, higher-quality beds, a dresser, a re ...
s,
theatre
Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of performing art that uses live performers, usually actors to present experiences of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place, often a Stage (theatre), stage. The performe ...
s, experiences and general shopping with 20% being the standard discount.
Smartsave uses 'discount technology' with electronic terminals being deployed in shops, restaurants and other outlets. Metropolis International also offer Smartsave discounts to consumers through a variety of distribution channels including
guide book
A guide book or travel guide is "a book of information about a place designed for the use of visitors or tourists". It will usually include information about sights, accommodation, restaurants, transportation, and activities. Maps of varying det ...
s,
street map
A road map, route map, or street map is a map that primarily displays roads and transport links rather than natural geographical information. It is a type of navigational map that commonly includes political boundaries and labels, making it ...
s, directories and
mobile applications
A mobile application or app is a computer program or software application designed to run on a mobile device such as a phone, tablet, or watch. Mobile applications often stand in contrast to desktop applications which are designed to run on d ...
. The program currently runs discounts in the UK, United States, France, Germany and the
Netherlands
, Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...
.
Some of Smartsave's partners include
Ripley's Believe It or Not!
''Ripley's Believe It or Not!'' is an American franchise founded by Robert Ripley, which deals with bizarre events and items so strange and unusual that readers might question the claims. Originally a newspaper panel, the ''Believe It or Not'' ...
,
Manchester United Museum,
Paradise Wildlife Park
Hertfordshire Zoo, formerly known as Paradise Wildlife Park and originally opened as Broxbourne Zoo in the 1960s, is a privately-operated zoological park and registered conservation charity located in Broxbourne, Hertfordshire, England. The ...
,
Aquarium of the Bay
Aquarium of the Bay is a public aquarium located at The Embarcadero (San Francisco), Embarcadero and Beach Street, at the edge of Pier 39 in San Francisco, California. The aquarium is focused on local aquatic animals from the San Francisco Bay a ...
,
Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum
The ''Intrepid'' Museum (originally the ''Intrepid'' Sea, Air & Space Museum) is a military and maritime history museum in New York City, United States. It is located at Pier 86 at 46th Street (Manhattan), 46th Street, along the Hudson River, ...
and more.
External links
Metropolis Official websiteSmartsave Official website
References
{{Metropolis International
Magazine publishing companies of the United Kingdom
Publishing companies based in London
Publishing companies established in 1994
1994 establishments in the United Kingdom