Relx, Don't Do It (Despair About UK Stocks)
The Elsevier owner’s culture of continuous improvement has paid off.
Photographer: Leon Neal/Getty Images Europe (2022)
There’s no shortage of bad news about the UK stock market: The benchmark index has underperformed US, European and global peers for years, investors and listed companies are deserting the exchange, and valuations languish at close to their lowest since the global financial crisis. All the more reason to celebrate — and look for lessons from — the rare success stories.
Relx Plc isn’t a household name in the same way as bigger FTSE 100 members like Shell Plc, HSBC Holdings Plc or Unilever Plc, whose products have a clearly defined consumer profile. Public recognition is also impeded by a name that comes from the brow-furrowing school of corporate rebrands, alongside Abrdn Plc and the short-lived Tronc Inc. For people of a certain age, Relx looks like a misprinted nod to 1980s pop band Frankie Goes to Hollywood (biggest hit: Relax). Make no mistake, though: It’s the poster child for digital transformation.