Our Business

What started out as an idea while we were at university has today become one of the largest publishing groups in the world, spanning an audience of billions. We have built an incredibly loyal community and have since branched out into multiple brands and social platforms, which along with our content, has evolved and continues to engage and inspire young people across the globe.

We initially developed the idea for a social media publishing business whilst studying business management at Leeds University, recognising the huge potential the business had. When Facebook was at its inception it already had a really engaged young audience, so when we were just 21, we saw this opportunity and started LBG Media in 2012.

Back when we started LBG Media we couldn’t have imagined that it would become the world’s all-time most viewed and engaged publisher on Facebook. We have stayed true to our founding values whilst continuing to expand our reach, and we are also now the biggest publisher on TikTok with more than 60 million followers.

When we started the business, we were witnessing a massive shift from traditional media to social and online media.

We spotted this opportunity and wanted to provide content, news and entertainment for young people just like us.

Young people had stopped relying on traditional media sources, were spending more time on their mobile phones and laptops, and were looking for easily accessible entertainment. Ultimately, this led to the creation of LBG Media.

It was clear from very early on that there was a gap in the market for a digital-first, publisher that could provide insightful and engaging content for young adults.

Right from the start we saw huge traction and audience growth which meant that we were reaching highly sought-after audiences, and this was a valuable proposition to prospective partners.

We were leading the charge with how to navigate the ever-changing landscape of social and digital media – something that more traditional media businesses couldn’t do. Companies spotted this and saw us as a trusted partner to help them engage with our young adult audience.

We constantly adapted to new trends and social media platforms as we had the data to understand what young people were interested in and could leverage this for our partners. This led to consistent revenue growth as our constant engagement with our community and insight into what excited them became increasingly attractive to a broad range of companies. We know what our audience wants and how to deliver it to them, this is a hugely valuable proposition for companies looking to target our highly engaged young adult audience.

LBG Media has evolved into a global entertainment platform, creating content that resonates and engages with hundreds of millions of people through a range of mediums.

The talent we have and our dedication to our core mission to give young adults a voice, by building communities that laugh, think, and act, ensures we remain true to our purpose and fuels our growth.

We are building an entertainment powerhouse focusing on young adults.

Our people are at the heart of everything we do – both our internal team and our audience. The entire team believes in, and are behind, LBG Media’s mission. They can see the real-life impact of their work instantly, whether that’s raising money, raising awareness around important topics, or putting a smile on people’s faces.

We have a passionate, entrepreneurial, creative, and collaborative culture built by people from a diverse set of backgrounds, ages and expertise. There are endless opportunities to enrich our culture via community groups such as LBGTQIA+ allies and internal fundraisers. We are always open to ideas, and we encourage everyone to share their ideas for what LBG Media’s future could look like.

Today we’re a global business nearing 500 people and international offices in Dublin and New York, but our culture remains wherever we are. We are proud to have key individuals that have helped us grow the business and have been on board from the start, going on to set up and build our international offices.

We have the team, structure, ambition to keep growing.

In 2023 we saw a significant increase in followers across our brand portfolio, taking us to 452 million followers worldwide. This presents a huge opportunity for continued growth which remains our priority.

Our positive momentum and platform for growth - particularly in the US - leaves LBG Media at a significant juncture in its evolution and provides a clear line of sight to achieving £200m of revenue in the future.

Our significant growth drivers are geographic expansion, M&A and expanding capabilities, all underpinned by organic growth. 2023 was a hugely exciting year for us, with the acquisition of Betches Media and our progression in the US. LBG Media also launched its seventh website, UNILAD Tech, to provide an opportunity to further monetise, implemented positive changes in the ANZ operating model, and opened a new content studio in Manchester. This presents further scope to expand our capabilities and offerings to clients and audiences alike.

Alongside, we continue to build on the purpose of our brand and create thought-provoking and entertaining content, to continue our established position as one of the largest young adult entertainment businesses in the world.

We want to continue building a global entertainment powerhouse focusing on young adults. As with everything in this space it is all about being nimble and innovative, fortunately this has been at the core of LBG Media from the start.

We want to continue to grow our brands in multiple territories, both organically and via acquisitions and remain at the cutting edge of content, cultural moments and technology.

We operate in the largest and fastest growing sector of the advertising industry; and our geographies, diversified revenue streams, targeted audience and estimated target addressable market give us a clear line of sight for £200m of annual revenue in the future.

LBG Media has considerable scope for further growth, and we are incredibly excited by the prospects for the Group. We are sure that LBG Media will be a bigger and better business in five years’ time whilst remaining true to our core purpose and mission.

We are aware that we have a powerful global platform to push a socially responsible agenda, represent our audience, and enable those who do not have equal opportunities to have their voices heard.

To support the young generation, we have worked on partnerships with charities such as Merky FC, World Vision, Plan International and The Prince’s Trust. LBG Media was the official media partner for the Mayor of London’s ‘Say Maaate’ campaign, encouraging men to challenge misogyny.

We continue to shine a light on extraordinary untold stories and change perceptions of people from all walks of life via our award-winning formats such as Minutes With and activated on-the-ground content around culturally relevant moments such as Pride, Suicide Prevention Month and Movember.

We sum up what separates us from our competition with four key terms: Innovation, Brand Equity, Diversity, and Relevancy.

• Innovation - We provide original and innovative content for brands and then provide innovative tools for them to improve engagement and understand the ROI of their content.
• Brand Equity - Our brand and growing portfolio of brands are synonymous among our millennial and Gen Z audience that we have built up over the last decade.
• Diversity
  • A diverse range of brands focused on key passion points;
  • A diverse revenue model balanced equitably across direct and indirect streams;
  • A diverse set of products and capabilities from social, web, audio, and events
  • We have communities across all major social platforms; and
  • We have a diverse global audience of men and women.

  Our diversity is a key competitive edge.

  • Relevancy - Our collaborations with global celebrities demonstrate the relevancy of our brand and our willingness to innovate and adapt continues to put us at the heart of digital advertising among young adults.

Our unrivalled engagement, unique relationship with social platforms and clients, data insights and intelligence, and fantastic talent within the business are emblematic of our distinction and emphasise why we are the best at what we do.