If you follow big-money stories in the UK boardroom bust-ups, surprise takeovers, emergency rescues you’ve probably run into the byline Mark Kleinman. He’s the City editor at Sky News, the guy whose exclusives have CEOs phoning PR at 6 a.m. and traders refreshing their feeds like it’s transfer deadline day. In the world of business journalism, Kleinman has earned a reputation for speed, accuracy, and a string of scoops that actually move markets. This isn’t a puff piece. It’s a plain-English deep dive into who he is, how he works, and why his name keeps popping up whenever something big is happening in the Square Mile.
The quick take
- Job: City Editor, Sky News
- Beat: Big corporate moves M&A, board changes, flotations, crises
- Style: Scoop-driven, concise, often first with the story
- Side gig: Weekly columnist for City A.M. (think sharp Monday-morning analysis for finance folks)
- Honours: Winner, British Journalism Awards 2021 (Business, Finance & Economics). Judges singled him out for breaking three of the year’s biggest stories. He’s also been recognised by the London Press Club.
Why Mark Kleinman matters
Every newsroom has brilliant reporters, but very few consistently land agenda-setting exclusives on complex corporate stories. Mark Kleinman track record includes early, accurate reporting on the European Super League implosion, the collapse of Arcadia Group, and the high-stakes interest in Morrisons the exact trio cited when he took home the British Journalism Award in 2021. To quote the award blurb: three of the year’s biggest stories, all broken by one journalist. That’s rare.
His stories are often the spark that kicks off a news cycle: one scoop leads to market chatter, company statements, regulatory questions, and sometimes full-on political rows. It’s a reminder that good reporting isn’t just “content” it’s cause and effect.
From print rooms to rolling news the backstory
Mark Kleinman didn’t start in TV. He cut his teeth in print, building sources and learning the M&A game the old-fashioned way: phone calls, coffees, and keeping your word. He served as M&A correspondent at The Sunday Times, then headed to Hong Kong as the Asia business editor for the Daily and Sunday Telegraph, before returning to become City Editor of The Sunday Telegraph. In 2009, Sky hired him to lead its City coverage and he’s held that job ever since. That print-first background shows in his work. Even on TV, he writes like a desk editor under deadline pressure: clean, sourced, and just enough context to tell you why it matters without drowning you in jargon.
The signature scoops that stick
Here’s the thing about high-end business reporting: you only get the good tips if people trust you. Years back, Mark Kleinman told The Guardian that the craft boils down to trust get it right, protect your sources, and the stories keep coming. That checks out with how his byline has stayed hot across different beats and cycles.
A few emblematic examples from the archive and his feed
- Retail shake-ups: From BHS to Topshop/Arcadia, he’s been early and often on the biggest UK high-street stories of the last decade.
- Deals & approaches: Regular exclusives on bidders circling assets from electronics chains to metals companies often appear first under his name, then ripple across the wires.
- Live breaking on TV: During crunch moments (think Arcadia’s collapse fears), Sky often throws to Mark Kleinman for the on-air line because he’s the one with the line.
None of this works if you’re careless. He’s built a brand around being first without playing fast and loose an underrated balance in an era of hot takes and instant posts.
Awards aren’t the point but they tell a story
Awards don’t define a reporter, but the pattern is telling. The British Journalism Awards 2021 judges credited Mark Kleinman for “three of the biggest stories of the year.” Sky itself highlighted the win the night it happened. And separate from that, he’s been recognised (more than once) by the London Press Club for business journalism. Put together, those nods say: this isn’t a one-season wonder.
How he works as best as outsiders can tell
Nobody hands over their rolodex, but if you watch Kleinman’s output you can guess the playbook:
- Source depth over volume. It’s better to have six people in the right rooms than sixty in the cheap seats.
- Relentless follow-ups. The first exclusive is the door; the second and third stories keep you inside the room.
- Tight writing, fast publishing. Sky’s digital-plus-TV setup suits him drop the scoop online, explain it on air, develop it in a column.
- Own your beat. He covers finance like a sports beat writer covers a club knowing who’s up, who’s out, and what’s actually likely.
If you’re a comms person or junior reporter, there’s a practical lesson here: relationships compound. You earn tomorrow’s phone call with how you handle today’s.
What he writes like
Mark Kleinman copy reads like a well-briefed broker note: clear headline, firm verb, one killer detail. When he writes his City A.M. column, he stretches out a bit adds colour, lays out what’s coming next, and doesn’t mind a sharp aside. Whether it’s Thames Water drama or a messy listing plan, his tone is confident without being performative. It lands because it’s informed.
The human bits yes, he has them
You won’t get oversharing, but glimpses do slip through: on his public bio pages and social feed he mentions his football allegiance and jokes about life at the coalface of City news. It’s not the main thing, but it does remind you there’s a person behind the scoops someone who still has to make weekend plans and catch trains like the rest of us.
Why and investors read him
Because timing matters. If you’re running a company, Mark Kleinman piece might tip you off that a competitor is raising cash or that a regulator is circling. If you’re on the buy side, a well-sourced exclusive about a potential bidder or a boardroom shake-up can change your model. That’s the value: actionable information delivered responsibly. And when he gets something wrong? You’ll usually see a clean update. That’s part of why the pipeline stays open: sources trust people who correct the record rather than bury it.
What newer journalists can steal from his approach
- Specialise. Pick a patch and learn it as deeply as analysts do.
- Build a small, real network. Not “LinkedIn connections,” but people who’ll text you at odd hours because they know you won’t burn them.
- Write for the reader’s decision. Why should a CFO, investor, or employee care today? Say that first.
- Protect your name. You only get a few chances to show you keep confidences and handle sensitive info with care. Guard those like equity.
Where to read him
- Sky News (Money/Business): his day-to-day exclusives and explainers live here. Bookmark his author page if you follow UK corporate news.
- City A.M.: his weekly column more opinionated, more context, still source-driven.
- On air: when a story breaks, Sky often throws to him live. If you want the top line before the market digests it, that’s your.
Final word what makes Mark Kleinman respected
It isn’t just the trophies or the job title. It’s the pattern: year after year, he lands stories other people wish they had; he writes them cleanly; and he does it in a way that people inside companies still pick up his calls the next day. In business reporting, that balance authority without theatrics is hard. Mark Kleinman makes it look straightforward, which is usually the sign someone is very, very good at their craft.