Merit Group plc is a British publishing

holding company A holding company is a company whose primary business is holding a controlling interest in the Security (finance), securities of other companies. A holding company usually does not produce goods or services itself. Its purpose is to own Share ...

founded in 2001. Its largest shareholder is the Conservative politician and businessman

Lord Ashcroft Michael Anthony Ashcroft, Baron Ashcroft, (born 4 March 1946) is a British-Belizean businessman, pollster and politician. He is a former deputy chairman of the Conservative Party. Ashcroft founded Michael A. Ashcroft Associates in 1972 and was ...

. It was formerly known as Huveaux plc (from 2001 to 2010) and then as Dods Group plc (2010–2021). Its ordinary shares are listed on the

Alternative Investment Market AIM (formerly the Alternative Investment Market) is a sub-market of the London Stock Exchange that was launched on 19 June 1995 as a replacement to the previous Unlisted Securities Market, Unlisted Securities Market (USM) that had been in opera ...

of the

London Stock Exchange The London Stock Exchange (LSE) is a stock exchange based in London, England. the total market value of all companies trading on the LSE stood at US$3.42 trillion. Its current premises are situated in Paternoster Square close to St Paul's Cath ...

Subsidiaries

A subsidiary, Dods Parliamentary Communications Ltd, publishes ''

The House Magazine ''The House'' is a weekly political magazine relating to the British Houses of Parliament History and profile It was founded in 1976 by MPs including Mike Thomas, Richard Faulkner and Patrick Cormack. It is published weekly when Parliament is ...

'', a fortnightly publication for peers and MPs in Westminster; the annual ''

Dod's Parliamentary Companion ''Dods Parliamentary Companion'' (formerly "Dod's Parliamentary Companion") is an annual politics reference book published in the United Kingdom. It provides biographies and contact information on members of the Houses of Parliament and the ...

''; and ''

The Parliament Magazine ''The Parliament Magazine'' is a monthly EU politics, policy and culture magazine. Its website, www.theparliamentmagazine.eu, is a forum for discussion on the latest developments in EU politics and policy, featuring regular contributions from pr ...

'', aimed at

Members of the European Parliament A member of the European Parliament (MEP) is a person who has been elected to serve as a popular representative in the European Parliament. When the European Parliament (then known as the Common Assembly of the European Coal and Steel Comm ...

. Publication of ''Dods Parliamentary Companion'' began in 1832. In 2011, the company bought the ''PoliticsHome'' website from Lord Ashcroft for £2m. PoliticsHome had been founded in 2008 as a sister site to

ConservativeHome ConservativeHome is a politically conservative news website and events company. It was first established by Tim Montgomerie in 2005 with the aim of arguing for a broad conservative spectrum, which is serious about both social justice and a fair ...

and was then edited by

Paul Waugh Paul Waugh (born 1966 or 1967) is a British politician and journalist who has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for Rochdale since 2024. Running under the Labour Co-op banner, he unseated George Galloway, the sole MP from the Workers Party ...

. In 2012, it bought Biteback Media Ltd, publisher of ''

Total Politics ''Total Politics'' was a British political magazine described as "a lifestyle magazine for the political community". It was first published in June 2008, and was distributed freely to all MPs, MEPs, peers, political journalists, members of the ...

'', for £795,000 in cash, and Holyrood Communications, publisher of '' Holyrood'', for £416,806 cash plus a further £250,000 if profit targets are met. As of March 2022, ''Politics Home'' and ''The House Magazine'' had a combined one million monthly readers online.

References

{{Authority control Companies based in the City of Westminster Magazine publishing companies of the United Kingdom Companies listed on the Alternative Investment Market 2001 initial public offerings