2003 Second Half Trading

          Revenue Growth and Further Operating Efficiencies Achieved

    LONDON, Dec. 18 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ --

    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 pounds sterling 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
pounds 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 pounds 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

    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.

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