An exciting announcement...

The future of Off to Lunch and Business Studies

Hello everyone and welcome to Off to Lunch…

Today I want to share an exciting announcement with you about the future of Off to Lunch and Business Studies.

Since I launched Off to Lunch on Substack 18 months ago it has grown quickly. The newsletter clearly hit a gap in the market for insightful, concise, useful and entertaining business content. Our Business Studies podcast launched five months later and has also grown quickly, with listeners enjoying the opportunity to hear fascinating business leaders talk about their stories of success and failure in-depth.

Thank you to you - the subscribers of Off to Lunch and Business Studies - for making all that possible. The newsletter and podcast are better - and have been more fun to produce - thanks to your feedback, ideas and support.

Now is the moment to build on this. I am delighted to say that Off to Lunch and Business Studies have been acquired by Business Leader magazine, providing the opportunity to expand and improve.

Off to Lunch, Business Studies and Business Leader will come together to build a new agenda-setting powerhouse in UK business media. I will be editor-in-chief of the enlarged Business Leader group and oversee all content.

Business Leader has just been acquired by Richard Harpin, who built Homeserve into a £4.1 billion business and featured in an episode of Business Studies in July. There are big ambitions for what we can achieve across digital, print, audio and other media formats. Business Leader will be aimed at the 110,000 medium-sized businesses in the UK and focus on how they can scale-up to become large companies, a key challenge for the economy.

Speaking to The Times about the purchase of Business Leader last month, Harpin said:

“I went to WH Smith and was horrified to see there weren’t many business magazines and most of them were American. We really need a great British business magazine that encourages entrepreneurs to scale their businesses.”

For Off to Lunch and Business Studies subscribers, nothing will change in the short-term. But you can expect to hear about exciting plans to improve and grow soon, including Business Studies becoming a weekly podcast throughout the year.

This is obviously an exciting moment for me, Off to Lunch, Business Studies and Business Leader. It demonstrates the interest in quality business content and the opportunities to invest, innovate and grow.

You can find Business Leader’s existing website here and our podcast episode with Richard Harpin here. I have also attached the full announcement from Business Leader below.

Thank you again for all your support. Please get in contact with any questions, thoughts or ideas at the usual address - graham@offtolunch.com. I look forward to the next part of this story with you!

Off to Lunch will be back tomorrow.

Best

Graham

Graham Ruddick joins Business Leader Magazine as Editor-in-Chief

• Business Leader appoints former Times, Guardian and Daily Telegraph business journalist Graham Ruddick as its first Editor-in-Chief

• New role marks beginning of Business Leader’s plans to grow its business news and networking offering following its acquisition by HomeServe founder Richard Harpin

• Ruddick’s popular business newsletter Off to Lunch and Business Studies podcast will become part of the network’s range of resources for entrepreneurs and professionals

• Business Leader is at the centre of Harpin’s plans to solve one of the UK’s key growth challenges: helping its 110,000 medium-sized businesses scale up

Business Leader, the leading B2B magazine and events company, is pleased to announce that Graham Ruddick will join as Editor-in-Chief. 

Ruddick becomes Business Leader’s first Editor-in-Chief in a move which marks Business Leaders plans to expand and grow its offering following its acquisition by entrepreneur and founder of HomeServe, Richard Harpin, earlier this month. 

Ruddick brings with him a wealth of journalistic experience, having enjoyed a fifteen-year career at The Times, The Guardian and Daily Telegraph. He held the role of Deputy Business Editor at the Times between 2018 and 2022, following a decade in senior roles covering the media, retail and technology industries. He brings an exciting skillset and depth of knowledge to Business Leader as it seeks to grow its position as the UK’s leading business magazine. 

Off to Lunch and Business Studies – the popular business newsletter and podcast founded by Ruddick – have also been acquired by Business Leader. 

Business Leader’s print and digital media publications sit alongside high-profile business events as a key part of the company’s offering. Now backed by Harpin, Business Leader will grow its platform with the objective of supporting the growth ambitions of the UK’s 110,000 medium-sized businesses, helping them become highly productive large companies. Later this year a Peer-to-Peer membership division will be launched as part of Business Leader’s multi-channel offering.

Graham Ruddick, Editor-in-Chief of Business Leader, said:

“I am hugely looking forward to joining Business Leader in what is an exciting new chapter for the company. There is a real gap in terms of high-quality, informative business media content available to the founders and CEOs across Britain seeking to grow their businesses from medium to large. We firmly believe that Business Leader can become the foremost news source and business network for this important group of founders and professionals. 

Richard Harpin, founder of HomeServe and owner of Business Leader, said:

“I know as well as anyone that inspiring, thought-provoking content and discussion can make a huge difference to founders and entrepreneurs. As Business Leader develops its multi-channel approach to becoming the go-to platform for ambitious founders and entrepreneurs to get the help they need to scale their businesses, the role of digital and print media remains vital.” 

Andrew McLaughlan, CEO of Business Leader, said:

“We are really pleased Graham has joined the team in what is a new and pivotal role at Business Leader. We believe his experience and expertise will be vital in producing high-quality and thought-leading content for our subscribers. Graham’s track record and entrepreneurial drive means he is best placed to help deliver the engaging content which our audience demands. We are delighted to have him on board.”

Ends