Exeter Observer has reached a crossroads. Over the past seven years it has become established as a trustworthy source of local public interest news which serves 60,000 regular readers who might otherwise never know about the things we report.

New marketing methods have tripled the rate at which readers sign up as paying subscribers, but our rising subscription income is still only halfway to covering our annual running costs.

We need additional working capital to keep publishing until we break even – a prospect which is now in sight – so have launched a community share offer to secure a firm financial footing for Exeter Observer's future.

Our business development plan has two main aims: the adoption of new publishing and payment technology to help grow our income and the expansion of our team to deliver all the local news that matters.

You can read more about and download our plans, with full details of our spring 2026 community share offer, below. You can also apply to invest in Exeter Observer – and claim back 30% of your stake as tax relief under the HMRC Enterprise Investment Scheme.