Embargoed until 7:00AM                               18th December 2003        

                             United Business Media                             

                           Pre-close Season Update*                            

                           2003 Second Half Trading                            

          REVENUE GROWTH AND FURTHER OPERATING EFFICIENCIES ACHIEVED           

SUMMARY

UBM has continued to make good progress in the second half of 2003. In
particular publications and exhibitions have generally delivered better than
expected performances. Trading conditions in the US have improved and there has
been a greater than expected recovery in Asia which was hit by SARS in the
first half. Overall second half revenue should be ahead of last year despite
the weakness of the dollar.

UBM is delivering year on year improvements in overall operating margin. The
group expects the second half margin to be above the 12.2 per cent achieved in
the first half; well ahead of the 10 per cent target for 2003.

In the second half of 2003 the year on year dollar revenue trend at CMP Media
has turned positive. CMP Asia has had a strong recovery post SARS and is
achieving both revenue and operating profit above the levels of the second half
of 2002. The UK publishing and events businesses both continue to perform
strongly. PR Newswire's core US business has been maintaining year on year
yield levels, with message volumes also broadly in line with the same period
last year. NOP World is continuing to improve year on year revenue and
operating margin.

UBM remains strongly cash generative and is net cash positive after having
invested over �100m on acquisitions in 2003. The integration of the
acquisitions at CMPi, CMP Media and UAP is proceeding well.

OPERATING HIGHLIGHTS

PROFESSIONAL MEDIA

CMP Media

Technology advertising page volume trends continued to improve and yields are
ahead. Exhibitions and online also made important positive contributions to CMP
Media's second half year on year growth. Healthcare revenue growth was very
strong and will be further boosted by the acquisition of The Oncology Group and
Cliggott Publishing.

CMP Asia

The post SARS recovery has been quicker than expected, with revenue running
ahead of last year. Exhibitions in China and Japan also performed well. Much of
the SARS related profit shortfall has been mitigated by a �3.8m insurance
payment.


CMP Information

Exhibitions in Europe performed strongly. Overall operating margins continue to
show significant progress over the prior year, with operating profit likely to
be ahead of the first half of 2003. The post acquisition integration of leading
construction and design titles is progressing well - these include The Builder
Group, The Barbour Index, Property Week and The Interior Design Handbook.

UAP

Improved operating efficiencies and an increase in profit of the AutoExchange
titles should deliver second half margin levels above those achieved in 2002.
The integration of This Caring Business is on track.

NEWS DISTRIBUTION - PR Newswire

Overall US message volumes and yields have been running in line with the second
half of last year, with modest growth in volumes and yields since the beginning
of November. Further reductions have been achieved in operating costs. Margins
in the second half will however be negatively impacted by approximately �2m of
restructuring charges.

MARKET RESEARCH - NOP World

NOP World is achieving year on year margin gains despite absorbing the costs
associated with the current restructuring programme and organic investments.
The syndicated businesses in the US are performing well. Healthcare and custom
research are improving.

ORGANIC INVESTMENT

Investment in organic growth initiatives continues across all of UBM's
businesses.


five

five continues to perform well, delivering further improvements in advertising
share and in operating profit.

*UBM is scheduled to announce its preliminary results for 2003 on 27 February
2004. This announcement is the routine update prior to entering the January and
February close season associated with the preliminary results

For further information please contact:

For United Business Media enquiries:

Michael Waring           United Business Media        + 44 20 7921 5031        
                                                                               
Colin Browne             The Maitland Consultancy     + 44 20 7379 5151        
                                                                               
Nick Molden              United Business Media        + 44 20 7921 5097        

This press release includes statements which are not historical facts and are
considered "forward-looking" within the meaning of Section 27 of the Securities
Act of 1933, as amended. These forward-looking statements reflect UBM's current
views about future events, business and growth strategy and financial
performance. These forward-looking statements are identified by their use of
terms and phrases such as "believe," "expect," "plan," "anticipate," "on
target" and similar expressions identifying forward-looking statements.
Investors should not rely on forward-looking statements because they are
subject to a variety of risks, uncertainties and other factors that could cause
actual results to differ materially from UBM's expectations. UBM expressly does
not undertake any duty to update forward-looking statements. Management does
not attempt to update forecasts unless conditions materially change.





END