UK-based United Business Media launches Property World in India

At a time when real estate is sluggish, UK-based media company, United Business Media (UBM), has gone ahead and launched a real-estate magazine, Property World, in India. The magazine is published by UBM's Indian arm, UBM India.

The B2B monthly magazine, which doesn't have a cover price yet, is targeted at professionals in the real-estate sector, real-estate developers, private equity investors and home loan providers.

The magazine has an initial print-run of 8,500 copies and will be circulated free amongst the target audience, across the country. “We hope to build awareness about the magazine and see the response, before putting a price tag to it,” says Anil Parameswaran Nair, executive editor, Property World.

Forty-two-year-old Nair is a veteran business journalist, with an experience spanning over 18 years. He has been associate editor of the Indian Express Group and has worked with the Financial Express, Express Exim Review, expressindia.com, SME World and Realty World. Before joining the UBM Group, he was working as the news head of Real Estate Television, a news channel dedicated to the real estate and infrastructure sector.

Property World will not only be circulated in India, but abroad in the US and the UK as well, “to target the direct and indirect investors, who are eyeing the growing real estate sector in India,” says Nair.

Nair feels that the lack of a good real-estate magazine in India leaves MBA students unaware about the opportunities in this sector. “The professionals in this sector remain unrepresented by the few magazines that are there in India. These professionals have their own unique needs and requirements and need to be made aware about management skills and trends in the sector. Property World will fill this gap,” he says.

UBM publishes magazines such as Property Week, Property Week Global, Building, Building Sustainable Design, Building Design, Construction Manager, and Electrical & Mechanical Contractor, which are circulated in the UK and US. It also owns PR Newswire, a leading corporate news distribution network. It claims to be a $2.5 billion company, listed on the London stock exchange.

Meanwhile, UBM India also publishes magazines such as CRN, a fortnightly for IT channel marketers, and Network Computing, a monthly targeted at technology leaders.

The content of Property World will encompass Indian and international developers, infrastructure companies, government policies, organised retail, office and residential space, commodity and stock markets, besides others.