For investors
A different kind of media business
Most local news is in managed decline. Modern Standard Media is built on the opposite assumption: that a small, technically capable team with the right model can serve a community better than a large legacy operation — and that this model scales.
The opportunity
Two investment streams
Modern Standard Media operates two distinct but reinforcing value streams. They can be invested in together or separately, and they serve different investor profiles.
Local news network
A proven flywheel operating in SW15 since 2023. Journalism builds engaged subscribers. Subscribers create commercial value. Commercial revenue funds more journalism.
- Live publication with ~2,000 email subscribers
- 26,000 monthly active website readers
- Blueprint replicates to Battersea, Tooting, Fulham and beyond
- Fixed infrastructure costs don’t scale with each new site
- Revenue ceiling grows with every new area launched
AI production methodology
A documented, proprietary approach to AI-augmented daily journalism — built and proven in the most demanding content environment: daily hyperlocal accountability reporting.
- Original methodology with no direct equivalent in market
- Covers triage, production, FOI strategy, audience intelligence
- Packaged as a system, not a tool stack
- Transferable to other publishers without rebuilding from scratch
- Higher valuation multiple than the news network alone
The numbers
Metrics that matter
The editorial product is proven. The engagement data is exceptional by any industry benchmark. The commercial engine is the next stage — and this is the investment opportunity.
Email engagement: Mailchimp reports 65–68% open rates against an industry average of 23.1%. On Mailchimp’s own bot-filtered methodology, the rate remains above 30% — still significantly ahead of benchmark. Clicks-per-unique-opens regularly exceed 100%, confirming readers click multiple stories per email.
Website engagement: 2 minutes 42 seconds average engagement time per active user. The benchmark for a news site is approximately 1 minute. Email-acquired users — the highest-quality segment — spend over 4 minutes on site per visit.
The benchmark: The Mill (Manchester) raised investment at 2.2x revenue on a comparable community news model with strong subscriber engagement. Modern Standard Media’s engagement metrics — particularly the NPS score of 76 and bot-filtered open rate above 30% — make a credible case for a comparable or higher multiple once revenue is established.
Use of funds
What investment makes possible
We are seeking £50,000–200,000 seed funding.
Network expansion
- Editor salaries across 2–3 sites
- Battersea.news launch (2026)
- Tooting.news and Fulham.news following
- Commercial manager hire
Commercial trajectory
- 2026: £4,000–7,000/month (first commercial deals)
- Year 1: £24,000–60,000 annual
- Year 2: £96,000–144,000 (2–3 sites)
- Year 3: £270,000–440,000 (5–6 sites)
Get in touch
Let’s talk
If you’re considering investment in independent local journalism or the AI production methodology, we’d like to hear from you. Initial conversations are informal and without obligation.
invest@modernstandard.media