How To Submit Your Press Release To UK Newswires & Websites

Submitting a press release in the UK is easy. Getting one read is not.

In my experience, most releases fail long before they reach a newswire. They fail at the planning stage, when nobody asks who the news is for, which route suits it, or what a journalist will do with it.

This guide walks you through the whole process, from choosing the right UK newswire to the follow-up email, with real prices in pounds.

Before you submit: is it actually news?

Let me start with the uncomfortable part. Most press releases are not news, and journalists can tell within a line.

Cision’s 2026 State of the Media survey of nearly 1,900 journalists, which includes the UK, found that 72% say at most a quarter of the pitches they receive are relevant. Muck Rack’s 2026 report found that 88% delete pitches that fall outside their beat.

When journalists reject a pitch, the reasons are telling:

• 82% say it was not relevant to them.
• 53% say it was too promotional.
• 34% say there was no news angle.
• Only 4% blame bad timing.

Before anything else, ask one question: would someone outside your company care about this? New jobs, new data, a new product that solves a real problem, a notable appointment or a result with numbers attached usually pass. A rebrand, on its own, usually does not.

Step 1: Choose the right kind of UK distribution

“Newswire” is used loosely in the UK. In practice there are five quite different routes, and choosing the wrong one is the most expensive mistake I see.

Newsroom newswires

These send your release into the feeds that professional newsrooms monitor.

• PA Mediapoint from PA Media costs £450 plus VAT per release. It delivers into the PA Media newswire, which PA says is picked up by all national newsrooms and many regionals, and publishes to its public Press Release Hub.
• PR Newswire UK and Business Wire reach national, regional and specialist outlets, but neither publishes UK prices. You will need a quote.

PA Mediapoint is a delivery channel, not an endorsement. It works best for genuine news with a named spokesperson, and it is not the place for marketing copy.

Email distribution to journalists

These services send your release directly to journalists chosen by sector or region.

• ResponseSource Press Release Wire: from £85 per release, across 25 sectors.
• PR Fire: £95 plus VAT, with a custom list of about 500 journalists for each release.
• Presswire: a UK circuit for £185, or worldwide for £300.

Online syndication and guaranteed publishing

These publish your release, word for word, across news and business websites. This is the quickest way to get live links, search visibility and something to show the board.

• Business Newswire: free for one release a month on five partner news sites, then £19 for 300+ sites, £39 for 500+ and £129 with AP News and USA Today.
• PRNow: a free plan, then from about £11 per release, billed in US dollars.
• Pressat: from £110 per release, or ten for £880, with a human review.
• PR Fire UK Regional Newswire: 65+ regional news sites for £600 plus VAT, labelled as sponsored content.

Free press release sites

A handful of free UK options still exist in 2026. eNewsWire publishes releases of up to 450 words free, within two working days, and Pressat and Newsmakers offer free distribution to charities.

Be realistic about them. Free sites rarely reach working journalists, and their links often carry no search value. They are fine for a first try, not for a launch that matters.

Regulatory news for listed companies

If your company is listed, this is not optional. UK rules require issuers to publish regulated information, including inside information, through a Regulatory Information Service.

The FCA currently approves six Primary Information Providers:

• RNS, from the London Stock Exchange Group
• Business Wire
• Cision, through Disclose and PR Newswire
• EQS
• GlobeNewswire
• MFN (Modular Finance)

Under Article 17 of UK MAR, inside information must be disclosed as soon as possible, and must not be combined with marketing. AIM companies must also publish through a Regulatory Information Service no later than the news appears anywhere else.

A marketing newswire cannot satisfy those rules. Use your approved service first, then a newswire to widen the reach if you wish.

Step 2: Write it to UK conventions

A release that looks American, reads like an advert or hides the news in paragraph four signals amateur hour to a UK editor. The fixes are simple.

The structure that works

1. Headline: the news in under 100 characters. No puns, no capital letters on every word.
2. Dateline: the city and date, written the British way, such as LONDON, 23 September 2026. No “st” or “rd” after the number.
3. First paragraph: who, what, when, where and why, in two sentences.
4. Supporting detail: the figures, the context and why it matters now.
5. A quote: from a named spokesperson, saying something a journalist could not write themselves.
6. ENDS: mark the end of the release clearly.
7. Notes to editors: your company boilerplate and any background.
8. Media contact: a name, an email address and a mobile number that someone actually answers.

Length, spelling and style

Most UK guidance puts a release at 300 to 500 words. Some newswires have their own rules; Pressat, for example, wants 300 to 1,500 words written in the third person.

Your pitch email should be shorter still. Cision’s research found journalists prefer pitches of around 100 to 200 words.

Use British spelling throughout: organise, programme, colour. Give journalists what they ask for: in the Cision survey, 47% wanted data, 45% wanted access to embargoed news and 42% wanted expert sources.

Embargoes

If you want journalists to prepare a story before it goes public, use an embargo line at the top, such as EMBARGOED UNTIL 00:01 BST, THURSDAY 1 OCTOBER 2026.

• Always include the time zone. The UK switches from BST to GMT on 25 October 2026.
• 00:01 is the time UK journalists are most used to seeing.
• Avoid Friday embargoes, which tend to land in the weekend lull.

Images

Send images with the release rather than “on request”. One journalist in the Cision survey put it bluntly: always provide images. Add short alt text that explains what each image shows.

Step 3: Check the legal basics

I am not a lawyer, and this is not legal advice. But I have seen enough releases pulled at the last minute to know where the traps are.

• Advertising rules. The ASA says press releases fall within its remit when they appear in paid advertising space or are aimed at consumers. If you pay to place a release, write it as if the CAP Code applies.
• Consumer protection. Under the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act, the CMA can fine businesses up to 10% of global turnover for breaches such as misleading claims.
• Personal data. Quoting or naming staff and customers involves UK GDPR. The ICO warns that employee consent may not be valid because of the imbalance of power, so consider legitimate interests instead.
• Financial promotions. Statements of fact alone are not an invitation to invest, but anything that could encourage investment needs proper advice first.
• Inside information. If you are listed, go through your regulatory service before anything else.

Step 4: Pick your timing

Timing matters less than relevance, but it still helps.

• Best days: Cision’s UK advice is Monday or Tuesday, between 9am and 11am.
• For features: a Tuesday sell-in for Thursday publication is a common UK rhythm.
• Deadlines: daily newsrooms typically file copy between 5pm and 7pm, so late-afternoon releases struggle.

Step 5: Submit it to the newswire

Once the release is ready, the submission itself takes minutes on most modern services. With us, it looks like this:

1. Create an account. Choose a free or paid plan.
2. Paste or upload your release. Add up to five links and three images on paid plans.
3. Choose your reach. From five partner sites on the free plan to AP News and USA Today on UK Premium.
4. Submit for review. An editor checks that it reads as news and that the facts and links hold up.
5. Go live and get your report. Releases publish the same day to 24 hours after approval, with a list of every live link.

Other services follow a similar pattern. Newsroom wires such as PA Mediapoint apply stricter checks and expect a named spokesperson, and email services ask you to choose sectors or regions.

Step 6: Pitch UK websites and journalists directly

This is the step most companies skip, and it is where real coverage usually comes from. A newswire gets your release published. A good pitch gets it written about.

• Email is king. 97% of journalists in the Cision survey prefer to be pitched by email.
• Put the story in the subject line. That advice comes straight from a Mail Online editor.
• Bring a real person. An ITV journalist called a strong case study the single most important thing.
• Think local. In Muck Rack’s research, 78% of journalists said a pitch is relevant if it affects their community.

Newsrooms are stretched. Press Gazette counted at least 3,444 journalism jobs cut across the UK and US in 2025, just over 30% of them in the UK, and more cuts have followed in 2026. Make the journalist’s job easy and your story has a far better chance.

If you would rather respond to requests than pitch cold, ResponseSource’s journalist enquiry service costs from £625 per sector per year.

Step 7: Follow up and measure

Follow up once, politely, and then leave it. In the Cision survey, 64% of journalists wanted a single follow-up, 28% wanted none, and only 8% were happy with more.

When you measure results, separate the two kinds:

• Pickups are your release republished as written, usually through syndication.
• Earned coverage is when a journalist writes their own story.

Both have value. Pickups give you live links, search visibility and proof of distribution. Earned coverage gives you credibility, and it is what AI assistants lean on: one 2026 study found that 84% of AI citations came from earned media.

A few technical points are worth knowing:

• Links: Google treats keyword-stuffed links in distributed releases as link spam, so use your brand name or a plain web address.
• Google News: since March 2025 there is no manual submission. Google decides which sources and stories it shows.
• AI visibility: releases cited by AI tools tended to include more statistics and bullet points, so structure pays.

How much does it cost to submit a press release in the UK?

Prices checked on 23 September 2026 on each provider’s own site. VAT is extra where charged.

Common mistakes to avoid

• Sending news to journalists who do not cover your sector.
• Writing an advert instead of a news story.
• Offering images only “on request”.
• Chasing the same journalist several times.
• Leaving the time zone off an embargo, or embargoing to a Friday.
• Stuffing links with keywords.
• Treating paid syndication as if it were editorial coverage.
• Putting inside information on a marketing wire before your regulatory announcement.

The fastest way to get started

If you want your news live today without a sales call, start with a service that lets you sign up and submit in minutes. Business Newswire and PRNow both have free plans and publish within hours.

If your story depends on specific UK journalists, add a targeted email service such as PR Fire, or pitch the handful of reporters who matter yourself. And if you are listed, begin with your regulatory news service.

Whatever you choose, remember the rule I give every client over coffee: the release is the easy part. The story is what gets you covered.

UK press release FAQs

How do I submit a press release in the UK?

Choose a route that suits the story, write the release to UK conventions, check the legal basics, then submit it through a newswire or distribution service. Follow up once with the journalists who matter most.

Can I submit a press release for free in the UK?

Yes. Business Newswire and PRNow offer free plans, eNewsWire publishes short releases free, and Pressat and Newsmakers offer free distribution to charities. Free options have limited reach.

How much does PA Media charge for press release distribution?

PA Mediapoint costs £450 plus VAT per release, covering distribution to the PA Media newswire and its public Press Release Hub.

What is the best time to send a press release in the UK?

Monday or Tuesday between 9am and 11am is widely recommended. Avoid late afternoons, when daily newsrooms are on deadline, and avoid Friday embargoes.

Do listed companies need a special service?

Yes. Inside information and other regulated announcements must go through an FCA-approved Primary Information Provider, such as RNS, before appearing anywhere else.