Longitude’s services cover three main areas: advisory, to help clients plan and execute effective and differentiated thought leadership campaigns; research, including surveys, interview programmes, data modelling and desk research; and content – multi-format thought leadership campaigns, spanning reports, articles, opinion pieces, visual and interactive content.

The Longitude team will remain in their London office for this year and will look to move into the Financial Times’ new headquarters, Bracken House, in early 2019.  

Financial Times CEO, John Ridding, said: “Longitude’s professional culture and reputation for quality sets it apart and makes it an ideal partner for the Financial Times. There is a natural synergy between our two businesses and aligning Longitude’s expertise and innovative approach with the Financial Times’ global audience and distribution will be of great benefit for our commercial clients.”

The investment is part of the newspaper brand’s growth into wider, integrated services. As well as building subscription sales and doing more conferences and events through Financial Times Live, it bought branded content company Alpha Grid in 2016.