University of Birmingham: Rail Business Daily enters into agreement to acquire Rail Alliance
The combination will substantially increase RBD’s community offer which has already seen more than 200 rail organisations sign up to the company’s business support service since June this year. Led by Eli Rees-King, more than 800 Rail Alliance members will transfer over to the RBD Community on 01 January 2022. It is a move that will uniquely position RBD to support the growth of organisations through a dynamic combination of symbiotic services all designed to help organisations ready and position themselves to win more work and to grow in line with their business aspirations.
Alex Burrows, Director of Enterprise and Innovation at the Birmingham Centre for Railway Research and Education (BCRRE), said: “David McLoughlin and his team at RBD have created a new standard for business support in the rail industry. The RBD Community, which is delivered by railway people for railway people, is incredibly effective and will deliver major additional benefits for our members. RBD offers all of the support services provided by Rail Alliance and so much more making this such a compelling and exciting opportunity for everyone concerned.
“Alongside our ongoing support in academia, innovation, business guidance and advice, networking and events, RBD Community can help with financing, pipeline and introductions, market positioning, profile enhancement and recruitment services. Our members will have access to every professional service they need all in one place. We are delighted to hand the baton over to RBD and would like to thank our members for their proactive engagement since we ourselves acquired Rail Alliance in 2019.”
David McLoughlin, Rail Business Daily’s CEO, said: “Our portfolio development team has long regarded Rail Alliance as a perfect match for our business. This fantastic deal comes at a perfect time for us and the RBD community as we support our customers in capitalising on heightened UK rail market opportunities, including the industry’s transition to Great Britain’s Railways.
“The transaction closed today [14 December 2021] with members transferring over to the RBD Community on 01 January 2022. We have written to all of the members to explain the changes and the fantastic opportunities that this agreement will bring.
“Rail Alliance is handing over the relationship with the membership to us in very good shape having supported organisations really well over the last three years. We will continue to work very closely with the team at the University of Birmingham helping ambitious rail organisations to achieve their business objectives.
“Our dynamic team provides additional capacity and capabilities to support organisations that want to win more work and expand. We combine strong expertise with specialist insight, helping to transform businesses by supporting them to adapt and meet their customers’ ever-changing requirements.
“We are already a trusted partner to hundreds of companies, offering a range of services designed to support long-term success. As well as expert advisors in a range of key business growth areas – from business development and investment to online and offline marketing and recruitment services, we are also the UK rail’s biggest and most powerful rail online/offline media and publishing business. We combine experienced professionals with business owners and those responsible for driving growth. Our rail profile enhancement capabilities really are second to none.
“We’re proud to be part of the fabric of rail business life with a great many fantastic clients. Our new relationship with former Rail Alliance members will add so much more value to so many organisations and we look forward to forging close working relationships over the coming weeks and months. Whether they are looking for support to take their business to the next level, advice on taking a great idea to market or support in getting their name out there, we can help the to unlock the true potential of any rail business. We now look forward to working with the former Rail Alliance membership.”