Global to expand outdoor network with Alight Media deal

Global’s advertising operation is set to gain a much larger UK outdoor network, alongside its established radio and digital advertising activities.

The company has agreed to acquire Alight Media, which operates more than 1,500 digital 48 sheet advertising displays and a mix of digital and traditional 6 sheet posters.

Its portfolio also includes more than 4,000 digital screens in leisure and hospitality venues.

The deal is intended to extend Global’s geographic coverage and bring Alight’s sites into the advertising systems it has developed since entering the outdoor sector in 2018. These include DAX, which Global has expanded into outdoor advertising, as well as its Global IQ planning tools.

It also plans to make the additional inventory accessible through AdPower, its self service advertising platform aimed at smaller businesses, while offering agencies and advertisers more ways to plan, buy and measure campaigns across roadside, transport and city centre locations.

Global Group CEO Simon Pitts said combining the businesses would help by “offering advertisers even greater reach across the UK”, alongside improvements to self service and programmatic advertising.

Alight Media was founded jointly by Matthew Dearden and Dave Huckerby. Matthew, who previously served as President of Clear Channel Europe, said the business had grown since launching in 2019 and that joining Global would support its next stage of development.

Global already holds major outdoor advertising contracts, including the Transport for London rail contract, and says the enlarged estate will add to its advertising options as it competes with other media channels for spending.

The acquisition is expected to complete in the first quarter of 2027, subject to regulatory approval. Both companies will continue operating independently until the deal closes.