We dig into the memory bank of the City’s great and good. To mark 20 years of City AM, we spoke to the man who’s been there from the start, Lawson Muncaster, in this week’s Square Mile and Me
CV
Name: Lawson Muncaster
Job title: Managing director at City AM
Previous roles: Vice president international sales at Metro, vice president international sales EMEA ar CNN, Scottish TV sales exec
Age: 55
Born: Irvine, Scotland
Lives: Between North Berwick and London
Studied: Politics – but only for six weeks before I left university
Talents: Ping pong, pool and I’m actually not bad with maths
Motto: Plus est en vous – there’s more to you than you think
Biggest perk of the job? The people
Coffee order: Cappuccino, no chocolate
Drink order: Guinness
Favourite book: I don’t read, I’m dyslexic
Favourite film: Caddyshack or Shawshank Redemption
What was your first job?
Pouring pints in a casino in Edinburgh when I was 17.
What was your first job in the world of business?
I was a trainee salesman for Scottish television.
When did you know you wanted to build a career in the newspaper industry?
I was working within advertising, the murky world of media, for CNN in the late 90s, early 2000s, which got me involved in the business cside of news. I then left them to join Metro International – so that was my first taste of newspapers, and I wish I’d started many, many years before!
While I thought the Metro concept was brilliant, I found it quite hard to work out in my head how you could make money. Whereas with City AM being specifically focused on one market, the Square Mile in London – that excited me and convinced me and others to get up at 6am. And 20 years later here we are.
Who came up with the idea of City AM?
The concept to create a free newspaper targeting City professionals was formulated by me and my former partner Jens Thorpe on a flight coming back from Poland, going over the Square Mile and landing at City Airport. The free model was very much in vogue across the globe at that time. But the nature of our parish, the Square Mile, allowed us to be very specific, especially from an advertising specific – we had a high yielding demographic the advertisers really were interested in. And then obviously the journalistic care is history – we’re pretty good at what we do.
Do you remember the first day printing the paper?
I certainly do. I had an interview in the green room with John Humphries at BBC Radio 2 or 4, I can’t remember which. And we were in a car going there and I saw a gentleman on the street at 5:30 in the morning with a City AM in his hand. I stopped the car, got out and introduced myself. I think I gave him a fright. But that was the first morning, and then we got back to the office with The Times in London Bridge and we walked across the bridge en masse with our distributors, handing the paper out. That I remember very distinctly – the 5th of September, 2005.
What’s one thing you love about the City of London?
I just think the enthusiasm. It’s electric. I’d never been to the City before City AM – I thought it was old fashioned top hats and very posh people – and I’m certainly not posh. But actually it just had this energy – the people were young, there were all languages and cultures, and so much enthusiasm – I think it’s the most electric atmosphere anywhere in the world during the day.
And one thing you would change?
Having more people know the Square Mile is not just a destination for employees. From history to walks to bars, to restaurants, to clubs, to loads of things – it’s amazing! We work very closely with the Corporation of the City of London and Destination City to really try to attract people that don’t actually work here.
I also think the fact that banks aren’t allowed to have lunch with each other is a big problem – we should be encouraging competitors to have lunch, it’s good for business!
What’s been your most memorable business lunch?
Oh, gosh, that’s such a hard question. Any business lunch that goes into business dinner is pretty memorable.
Maybe a particularly extravagant one?
There’s loads of them, that’s the problem. All of my lunches are pretty extravagant. I’ll go with my first ever lunch at Sweetings – the oldest restaurant in the Square Mile. Having Guinness and champagne in pewter mugs before sitting at the bar and consuming fish. I got on so well with the maître d’ I put him in the paper, and the article is still on their wall today.
And what’s the key to a good business lunch?
That the person opposite is having a drink with you. That means two things: one, they’re senior enough to drink alcohol at lunchtime. And two, you have time to establish a relationship.
Any business faux pas?
Too many to mention.
What’s been your proudest moment?
The day I got married, having my four kids and setting up City AM.
And who do you look up to?
Any entrepreneur who has set up a business on his own or her own. And of course the people that originally gave me the money to set up City AM and now Matt Moulding. Without his vision, City AM would not be in the shape it is today.
What’s the best business advice you’ve ever been given?
Don’t network, make friends.
And the worse?
Keep on badgering people until you get a result. Don’t. Respect people’s time, respect people’s thinking, but don’t push.
Are you optimistic for the year ahead?
In the business world, I feel troubled waters ahead. Whilst I appreciate Rachel Reeves’s situation, you can’t keep on taking from the PLC business community, because that ends up in disaster. Taxing more never gets a country out of trouble.
But for City AM – there’s lots to celebrate! Who’d have thought that we’d have 69,000 people picking our newspaper up in 2005, and still the same number in 2025? That’s a real achievement given the climate for print media. Taking the app from zero to 200,000 within 18 months is also just phenomenal – a real testament to the journalists that we have here at City AM.
AI is also exciting in many places, though for City AM I think it’s a bit of a red herring. It can probably save a lot of time for journalists which is great, but unless you have individual thought and intellect written by individuals, people will see through that.
We’re going for lunch, and you’re picking – where are we going?
I’m very old fashioned, so Coq d’Argent. Does Harry say that as well?
And if we’re grabbing a drink after work?
Very Catholic – anywhere! I don’t want to celebrate one over another so I’ll just mention one special place in my heart that will always remain regardless, and that’s The Hatchet, now called The Three Cranes. That pub was a huge part of City AM’s life at the beginning and was also where I celebrated my honour of getting the Freedom of the City with my late father.
Where’s home during the week?
I currently stay at Tony Matharu’s Blue Orchid hotel in Tower Hill.
And where might we find you at the weekend?
I commute from North Berwick – so I have this wonderful, exciting life of coming down to the craziness of the City on a Monday and then back home to North Berwick on a Friday, where it’s a little bit different with four kids, two dogs and a very, very forgiving wife.
You’ve got a well-deserved two weeks off. Where are you going and who with?
Probably somewhere in the Caribbean, maybe Barbados or Granada, and I’m taking my family.