MLex was founded in 2005 by Robert McLeod and Duncan Lumsden, who had both been working as EU regulatory journalists in Brussels. Rob and Duncan’s extensive experience of this space allowed them to identify gaps in what other news outlets were providing. They understood the market’s need for an independent newswire that covered antitrust and regulatory merger reviews in more depth, and also honed in on the business impact of court decisions.

Initially set up with the Brussels-based, EU Antitrust lawyer in mind, MLex covered merger reviews, cartels, and some adjacent, trade-related stories. After proving the value of its journalistic ethos, MLex replicated that model across other areas of regulatory risk. More than a decade later, MLex’s main aim remains to add value with insights that are not publicly available in other sources. MLex’s coverage goes to a level of depth that is valuable to its readership and helps them make business decisions. Within a short period of time, MLex has built trust among its readers.

MLex’s journalistic style and approach to news is unique. With a singular focus on regulatory risk that could affect a business decision, MLex forgoes coverage that follows a political or lobbying agenda and instead goes deep into stories that will move the needle for businesses in terms of financial impact. MLex doesn’t distort editorial coverage by chasing readers with attention-grabbing headlines. The focus is always on where the regulatory risk lies and who may be impacted. As added value, the journalists connect the story to the specific companies or sectors that could be most impacted and provide forward-looking analysis to guide readers’ decisions.

As MLex expanded, it identified the need to cover new geographies where regulatory decisions were having a global impact. After establishing itself in the EU, MLex expanded into the United States then Hong Kong and Brazil, then later adding bureaus in other parts of the globe. Each of these local regulatory decisions had potential global impact as more and more the regulators were working together.

Expansion into the field of Financial Crime, International Trade, Data Privacy & Security and other areas happened naturally as market needs evolved. Despite its rapid growth, MLex’s focus remained on providing trustworthy insights that identify business risk or opportunity, to help readers make decisions