Embargoed until 7:02AM                                18th December 2003       

                 United Business Media acquisition of Eurisko                  

              Italy's largest independent market research company              

United Business Media today announced the acquisition of Eurisko, the leading
independent market research company in Italy, for Euro33m. Eurisko's success has
been driven by a range of market leading syndicated and custom research
products and consulting services.

Eurisko and NOP World share leading positions in the automotive, financial
services, healthcare and media sectors in their respective geographies. Through
Eurisko, NOP World can now market its key products directly into Italy and can
offer a wider geographical presence to its multinational clients.

In 2002 Eurisko had revenues of Euro28m and EBIT of Euro4.0m. The purchase price
represents 1.2 times revenue and 8.3 times EBIT.

Clive Hollick CEO of United Business Media said:

"Eurisko is attractive strategically, financially and geographically. It
complements NOP World's existing sector strengths and gives NOP World a leading
presence in one of the major European markets."

Simon Chadwick CEO of NOP World said:

"We are pleased to welcome this fast growing business into NOP World. This
acquisition gives NOP World an important position both in the Italian market
and in continental Europe, providing a platform to export key NOP products -
such as LifeMatrix, Allison-Fisher, AIP and FRS - throughout Europe and in
`Sinottica' NOP World is acquiring a major new syndicated product."

Remo Lucchi, CEO of Eurisko said:

"Within NOP World, Eurisko now has new products and resources to further
strengthen its leadership in Italy and a worldwide network with which we can
best meet the international research needs of our clients."

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          

Notes:

Eurisko. (http://www.eurisko.it) Founded in 1972, Eurisko conducts qualitative
and quantitative consumer based surveys, also B2B and panel research. Eurisko
is primarily a high-end, added value research firm. Eurisko is headquartered in
Milan, it also has offices in Rome and it operates in the main capitals of
Europe and in the USA.

Sinottica is Italy's leading single source research programme serving the media
and major advertisers,. Sinottica describes in detail attitudes and behaviours
of Italian consumers, including product, brand and media usage, lifestyle
trends and values.

Stp (Sinottica Advertising Tracking) This unit provides a tracking service for
the effectiveness of advertising campaigns. It is based on the use of an
innovative proprietary methodology.

NOP World. Bringing together some of the most renowned US and European research
firms in a unified global network, NOP World is the largest
business-to-business research agency in Europe and a top-ten market research
power worldwide. Headquartered in New York, NOP World provides focused market
intelligence, syndicated and ad hoc primary research and consulting support
across key industries, including automotive, consumer, healthcare, financial
services, technology and media.

United Business Media plc (http://www.unitedbusinessmedia.com) is a

leading provider of business information services to the technology,
healthcare, media, automotive and financial services industries. UBM offers
services in market research, consultancy, news distribution, publishing and
events to customers across the globe. Its brands include NOP World, one of the
largest market research groups globally; PR Newswire, the world's leading
corporate news distribution service and CMP, the B2B media and exhibition group
operating in high-tech, healthcare, property, entertainment jewellery & fashion
in the US, UK, Asia and Europe.

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