Originally based in Ladbroke Grove in London, the company was formed in 1987 by John Brown, who had previously run Virgin Books.

[3] While going on to publish several other newsstand titles, however, it was the customer magazine side of the business that grew most dramatically, with early clients including Debenhams, IKEA, the Dorchester, and Eurotunnel.

)[3] In 2001 the company disposed of its consumer titles (including Viz) in a £6.4 million deal with I Feel Good (IFG), a company belonging to ex-Loaded editor James Brown, to concentrate on customer communications, and quickly absorbed Citrus Publishing.

This helped move establish John Brown as the UK's largest customer publishing house.

In 2008 the senior management team restructured all the acquired businesses to trade under the single John Brown banner.