Landmarks
This chronology is indicative only. This site includes a broader communications and media timeline.
1887 Sir Richard Winfrey buys Spalding Guardian
1947 merger of four local newspaper publishers to form East Midland Allied Press (EMAP) under control of Winfrey family
1953 launches Angling Times
1955 launches Trout & Salmon
1956 buys Motor Cycle News for £100
1958 launches Garden News
1978 launches Match and Smash Hits
1980 buys Fleet News and Which Computer
1981 buys Educational Computing from IPC for £200,000.
1984 buys business titles company for £10m
1985 buys Maclaren business magazines
1985 East Midland Allied Press renamed EMAP
1986 buys Trade Promotion Services exhibition company
1986 buys Scarborough & District Newspapers for £4.5m
1987 launches Sky magazine
1987 buys East Yorkshire Newspapers
1988 buys Associated Kent Newspapers for £8m
1988 buys Parrett & Neves (East Kent papers)
1989 sells Quantum Publishing
1989 buys 40.7% stake in TR Beckett publishing
1989 buys Bucks & Herts Newspapers for £17.5m
1990 buys stake in KISS FM radio
1990 takes stake in Le Chasseur Francais
1991 buys Sounds, Kerrang! and Select music magazines
1991 takes stake in Transworld Communications radio group
1991 buys Radio City for £10.6m
1991 buys Car, Supercar & Classics and New Woman from Murdoch Magazines for £10m
1992 buys Northampton Mercury for £11.4m
1992 buys Maxwell Business Communication for £32m from administrators of Maxwell group
1992 launches Responses Photo magazine in France
1992 buys further 26 Maxwell titles for £21.5m
1992 sells stake in TR Beckett
1992 forms joint venture with Hachette to publish Elle, Sante and other magazines in UK
1993 buys 14 magazine titles from Thomson for £20.65M.
1994 buys For Him Magazine (FHM)
1994 buys Editions Mondial magazine group in France
1994 buys remaining shares in Transworld for £71m from GMG and others
1994 buys UK Golf Industry News, Golf Weekly and Golf World from NY Times for £11.25m
1994 buys Maclean Hunter European Publishing from Rogers for £60m
1995 buys Metro Radio for £98.7m
1995 sells Kent newspaper titles for £9.85m
1995 sells The Pulse (Bradford) and Great Yorkshire Gold radio for £4.6m
1996 sells 69 regional newspapers to Johnston Press for £211m
1996 buys Top Santé and Tele Star magazines from CLT
1996 launches Minx magazine for "girls with a lust for life"
1997 buys XL sports magazine
1997 opens Singapore office
1997 buys titles from Mason Stewart Publishing and Bounty Services in Australia
1997 sells Press Gazette, Media Week and 12 other business titles to Quantum Business Media for £14.1m
1997 buys US Macmillan medical magazines division, including Nursing Times, for £102m
1998 buys Petersen Publishing in US for £1bn
1998 buys Melody FM in London (renamed Magic 105.4) for £25m
1998 sells Red Dragon Radio in Cardiff to Capital Radio
1998 launches FHM Collections
1998 sells 18.95% stake in Metal Bulletin
1999 sells Insert French outdoor advertising arm
1999 buys General Media's auto show and publications arm in US
1999 launches entertainment magazine Heat
1999 launches Escape Routes travel magazine
1999 sells 13 business magazines and 7 exhibition events in insurance, fishing and freight sectors to Informa for £28m
1999 buys stake in Wagadon (The Face) for £16m
1999 Capital and EMAP form CE Digital consortium and win first local digital radio multiplex licence in London
2000 sells MediaDaten, WerbeWoche and 23 Swiss and German business magazines in construction, media and auto sectors to Bertelsmann for £14.3m
2000 takes 45% stake in Kick media in US
2001 sells online travel services arm
2001 sells US arm to Primedia for US$515m
2001 buys remaining 50% stake in Media Nature from Bayard
2001 closes Sky
2001 launches UK ELLEgirl
2001 launches ADDX auto magazine in France
2002 ends joint venture with Hachette
2002 launches Sneak teen magazine
2003 acquires Excelsior for £62 million, making Emap the second largest consumer magazine publisher in France
2003 SRH buys Capital Radio Productions (Dublin FM104) for €29m
2003 Emap buys Agor SAS exhibition business (inc Distrirama and Stockorama shows)
2004 buys 29% stake in Scottish Radio Holdings from SMG for £90.5m
2004 buys ABI Building Data from Springer Science & Business Media for £14m
2005 announces deal to buy remaining 73% of Scottish Radio Holdings and sell SRH newspaper division (Score Press) to Johnston Press for £155m
2005 pays £18m for London-based DeHavilland Information Services (Health Service Journal, Local Government Chronicle and Nursing Times)
2005 pays £140m for online fashion portal Worth Global Style
2006 agrees to sell EMAP France to Berlusconi's Mondadori for £380m
2006 closes Sneak magazine
2006 sells teen magazine Bliss to sticker album and magazine company Panini UK