The Times and The Sunday Times are the UK newspapers of choice for business leaders according to the latest results of the 2018 Global Business Influencer survey.

The annual survey conducted by research agency Ipsos MORI reveals that The Times is Britain’s overall number one title for business influencers, reaching 54 per cent every week. The result is significantly higher than The Telegraph and The Guardian (both 46 per cent) and the Financial Times (43 per cent).

The Sunday Times is the UK’s number one weekly title, reaching 46 per cent of business influencers every week - again reaching significantly more readers than competitors including The Sunday Telegraph and the Economist (30 per cent) and the Observer (20 per cent).

The Times and The Sunday Times’ combined weekly reach is 63 per cent or nearly two thirds of  business influencers compared to 53 per cent for the Telegraph titles and 52 per cent for The Guardian and Observer.

The Times is also top for the c-suite audience, reaching half (50 per cent), compared to 48 per cent for both The Telegraph and Financial Times.

John Witherow, Editor of The Times, said: “It is encouraging that once again The Times is named the best newspaper for British business leaders, who know that reading The Times pays dividends. Our trusted reporting and authoritative analysis helps these influential readers maintain their edge in a complex world.”

Dominic Carter, Group Chief Commercial Officer said: “The 2018 Global Business Influencer survey again reiterates the esteem in which our quality titles are held by UK senior business leaders. As the most trusted newspaper brand in Britain and with the highest average issue readership among the quality titles, The Times and The Sunday Times provide the complete package for its engaged audiences and advertisers.

“Our newspapers deliver award-winning, exclusive editorial content, provide brand-safe advertising environments and continually invest in audience segmentation and targeting to ensure the breadth and depth of readership in both the UK and abroad,” Carter added.

The Business Influencer Survey is widely recognised as the leading independent study of senior business audiences. It surveys leaders in UK companies with 50+ employees who are collectively responsible for business decisions worth £399bn - that’s £664m every day. On average, each Times ‘business influencer’ is responsible for budget decisions of £2.8m.