ITEM 4: INFORMATION ON THE GROUP

HISTORY AND DEVELOPMENT

Introduction

Reed Elsevier NV was originally incorporated in 1880 and Reed Elsevier PLC in 1903. In 1993 they contributed their respective businesses to two jointly owned companies, Reed Elsevier Group plc and Elsevier Reed Finance BV. The parent companies, Reed Elsevier PLC and Reed Elsevier NV, are separate, publicly-held entities. Reed Elsevier PLC’s ordinary shares are listed in London and New York, and Reed Elsevier NV’s ordinary shares are listed in Amsterdam and New York. Trading on the New York Stock Exchange is in the form of American Depositary Shares (ADSs), evidenced by American Depositary Receipts (ADRs) issued by Citibank N.A., as depositary. During 2014, Reed Elsevier Group plc, a company incorporated in England, owned the publishing and information businesses and Elsevier Reed Finance BV, a company incorporated in the Netherlands, oversaw financing and treasury activities. Reed Elsevier PLC and Reed Elsevier NV each held a 50% interest in Reed Elsevier Group plc. Until February 2015, Reed Elsevier PLC held a 39% interest in Elsevier Reed Finance BV and Reed Elsevier NV held a 61% interest. Reed Elsevier PLC additionally holds an indirect equity interest in Reed Elsevier NV, reflecting the arrangements entered into between Reed Elsevier PLC and Reed Elsevier NV at the time of the merger, which determined the equalisation ratio whereby one Reed Elsevier NV ordinary share is, in broad terms, intended to confer equivalent economic interests to 1.538 Reed Elsevier PLC ordinary shares.

Effective February 25, 2015, Reed Elsevier PLC and Reed Elsevier NV transferred their direct ownership interests in Elsevier Reed Finance BV to their jointly-owned company Reed Elsevier Group plc and named this newly-combined single group entity RELX Group plc. As a result, RELX Group plc now holds all Reed Elsevier businesses, subsidiaries and financing activities. Further information is provided on pages 23 to 24.

Material acquisitions and disposals

Total acquisition expenditure in the three years ended December 31, 2014, was £933 million, net of cash acquired of £35 million. During 2014, a number of acquisitions were made for total consideration of £396 million, net of cash acquired of £9 million. During 2013, a number of acquisitions were made for total consideration of £221 million, net of cash acquired of £14 million. During 2012, a number of acquisitions were made for a total consideration of £316 million, net of cash acquired of £12 million.

The net cash received on the disposal of non-strategic assets, after timing differences and separation and transaction costs, was £53 million (2013: £195 million; 2012: £160 million).

Capital expenditure

Capital expenditure on property, plant, equipment and internally developed intangible assets principally relates to investment in systems infrastructure to support electronic publishing activities, computer equipment and office facilities. Total such capital expenditure, which was financed using cash flows generated from operations, amounted to £270 million in 2014 (2013: £308 million; 2012: £333 million). In 2014, there was continued investment in new product and related infrastructure, particularly in the Legal segment. Further information on capital expenditure is given in notes 15 and 17 to the combined financial statements.

Principal Executive Offices

The principal executive offices of Reed Elsevier PLC are located at 1-3 Strand, London WC2N 5JR, England. Tel: +44 20 7166 5500. The principal executive offices of Reed Elsevier NV are located at Radarweg 29, 1043 NX Amsterdam, the Netherlands. Tel: +31 20 485 2222. The principal executive office located in the United States is at 230 Park Avenue, New York, New York, 10169. Tel: +1 212 309 8100. Our internet address is www.relxgroup.com. The information on our website is not incorporated by reference into this report.

Our agent in the United States is Kenneth Thompson II, General Counsel Intellectual Property, Privacy and Governance, RELX Group, kenneth.thompson@relxgroup.com, 9443 Springboro Pike, B4/F5/514, Miamisburg, Ohio, 45342.

11

Table of Contents

BUSINESS OVERVIEW

We are a leading provider of information solutions for professional customers across industries. We operate in four market segments: Scientific, Technical & Medical, providing information and tools to help its customers improve scientific and healthcare outcomes; Risk & Business Information, providing data services and tools that combine proprietary, public and third-party information, with technology and analytics to business and government customers; Legal, providing legal, tax, regulatory news and business information to legal, corporate, government and academic markets; and Exhibitions, organising exhibitions and conferences.

The Group’s reported segments are based on the internal reporting structure and financial information provided to the Boards. During 2014, Risk Solutions and Business Information have been combined into one business area, having previously operated separately. Accordingly, they are now presented as a single operating segment. Comparative figures have been presented as if the businesses had operated on a combined basis in the prior year.

Our principal operations are in North America and Europe. For the year ended December 31, 2014 we had total revenue of approximately £ 5.8 billion and an average of 28,200 employees. As at December 31, 2014 we had 28,500 employees. In 2014, North America represented our largest single geographic market, contributing 50% of our total revenue.

Revenue is derived principally from subscriptions, transactional and advertising sales. In 2014,  51% of our revenue was derived from subscriptions, 47% from transactional sales and 2% from advertising sales. An increasing proportion of revenue is derived from electronic information products, principally internet based. In 2014,  66% of our revenue was derived from such sources, including 85% of Risk & Business Information revenue, 77% of Legal revenue, 74% of Scientific, Technical & Medical revenue and 3% of Exhibitions revenue.

Subscription sales are defined as revenue derived from the periodic distribution or update of a product or from the provision of access to online services, which is often prepaid. Transactional sales include all other revenue from the distribution of a product and transactions of online services, usually on cash or credit terms. The level of publishing related advertising sales has historically been tied closely to the economic and business investment cycle with changes in the profit performance of advertisers, business confidence and other economic factors having a high correlation with changes in the size of the market. Subscription sales and transactional sales have tended to be more stable than advertising sales through economic cycles.

Revenue is recognised for the various categories as follows: subscriptions — on periodic despatch of subscribed product or rateably over the period of the subscription where performance is not measurable by despatch; transactional — on despatch or occurrence of the transaction or exhibition; and advertising — on publication or period of online display. Where sales consist of two or more independent components whose value can be reliably measured, revenue is recognised on each component as it is completed by performance, based on the attribution of relative value.

Our businesses compete for subscription, transactional, and advertising expenditures in scientific and medical, risk, legal and business sectors. The bases of competition include, for readers and users of the information, the quality and variety of the editorial content and data, the quality of the software to derive added value from the information, the timeliness and the price of the products and, for exhibitors and advertisers, the quality and the size of the audiences targeted.

For additional information regarding revenue from our business activities and geographic markets, see “Item 5: Operating and Financial Review and Prospects” on page 26.

12

Table of Contents

SCIENTIFIC, TECHNICAL & MEDICAL

In Scientific, Technical & Medical markets, we provide information and tools to help customers improve scientific and healthcare outcomes.

Elsevier is a leading provider of scientific, technical & medical information serving scientists, health professionals and students worldwide. Its objective is to help its customers advance science and improve healthcare by providing content and innovative information solutions that enable them to make critical decisions, enhance productivity and improve outcomes.

Elsevier is a global business with principal operations in Amsterdam, Beijing, Boston, Chennai, Delhi, London, Madrid, Munich, New York, Oxford, Paris, Philadelphia, Rio de Janeiro, St. Louis, San Diego, Singapore and Tokyo. It has 7,000 employees.

In 2014, approximately 68% of revenue came from subscription sales, 30% from transactional sales, and 2% from advertising. Approximately 37% of revenue by destination in 2014 was derived from North America, 30% from Europe and the remaining 33% from the rest of the world. 74% of revenue was delivered electronically.

Elsevier serves the needs of the science, technology & medical markets by publishing primary research, reference, and education content, as well as by providing a range of database and workflow solutions. Elsevier’s customers are scientists, academic institutions, educators, research leaders and administrators, medical researchers, doctors, nurses, allied health professionals and students, as well as hospitals, research institutions, health insurers, managed healthcare organisations, research-intensive corporations, and governments. All of these customers rely on Elsevier to provide high-quality content and critical information for making scientific and medical decisions; to review, publish, disseminate and preserve research findings; to create innovative tools to help focus research strategies, increase research effectiveness, improve medical outcomes, and enhance the efficiency of healthcare and healthcare education.

In the primary research market during 2014, over 1.1 million research papers were submitted to Elsevier. Over 16,000 editors managed the peer review and selection of these papers, resulting in the publication of more than 360,000 articles in over 2,000 journals, many of which are the foremost publications in their field and a primary point of reference for new research. This content was accessed by around 12 million people, with more than 750 million full text article downloads last year. Content is provided free or at very low cost in most of the world’s poorest countries. Elsevier’s journals are primarily published and delivered through the ScienceDirect platform, the world’s largest database of scientific and medical research, hosting over 12 million pieces of content, and 30,000 full-text e-books. Flagship journals include Cell and The Lancet families of titles.

In 2014, Elsevier expanded the Lancet collection, adding new titles such as The Lancet Psychiatry, The Lancet HIV and The Lancet Haematology.

Elsevier is also a global leader in the scientific, technical & medical reference market, providing authoritative and current professional reference content. While reference has traditionally been provided in print, Elsevier has been a leader in driving the shift from print to electronic. Flagship titles include works such as Gray’s Anatomy, Nelson’s Pediatrics and Netter’s Atlas of Human Anatomy.

Elsevier’s flagship clinical reference platform, ClinicalKey, provides physicians with access to leading Elsevier and third-party reference and evidence-based medical content in a single, fully integrated site. ClinicalKey is continuing to grow, and is currently accessed by over 2,000 institutions.

In medical education, Elsevier serves students of medicine, nursing and allied health professions through print and electronic books, as well as electronic solutions. For example, HESI, an online testing and remediation solution designed to help students of nursing and allied health professionals, conducted over 700,000 tests in 2014.

Elsevier’s database and workflow products provide a range of tools and solutions for professionals in the science, technical, and medical fields. Customers include academic and corporate researchers, research administrators and healthcare professionals.

13

Table of Contents

For academic and corporate researchers, significant products include Scopus, Reaxys, and Knovel. Scopus is the largest abstract and citation database of research literature in the world, with over 56 million abstract and bibliographic information records from more than 21,000 peer-reviewed journals and 5,000 international publishers. Reaxys is a leading solution for synthetic chemists, integrating chemical reaction and compound data searching with synthesis planning. Knovel provides a range of web-based productivity tools for the engineering community, integrating technical information with analytics and search to deliver trusted answers and drive innovation.

Elsevier serves academic and government research administrators through its Elsevier Research Intelligence suite of products. Leveraging bibliometric data from Scopus and other data types, SciVal, helps institutions to establish, execute and evaluate research strategies. Pure is a comprehensive research information management system which enables evidence-based research management decisions, promotes collaboration, simplifies administration and optimises impact. Our Analytical Services team provides accurate, unbiased analysis on research performance by combining high quality data sources with technical and research metrics expertise. SciVal Funding assists researchers and institutions in identifying grants that are most relevant in their research areas.

For healthcare professionals, Elsevier develops products to deliver patient-specific solutions at the point of care to improve patient outcomes. Its clinical solutions include ExitCare which provides patient education and discharge information and CPM Resource Center, which provides a data-driven framework to support nurses in undertaking procedures.

Market opportunities

Scientific, technical & medical information markets have good long-term growth characteristics. The importance of research and development to economic performance and competitive positioning is well understood by governments, academic institutions and corporations. This is reflected in the long-term growth in research and development spend and in the number of researchers worldwide. Growth in health markets is driven by ageing populations in developed markets, rising prosperity in developing markets and the increasing focus on improving medical outcomes and efficiency. Given that a significant proportion of scientific research and healthcare is funded directly or indirectly by governments, spending is influenced by governmental budgetary considerations. The commitment to research and health provision does, however, remain high, even in more difficult budgetary environments.

Strategic priorities

Elsevier’s strategic goal is to lead the way in providing information solutions that advance science, technology and health. To achieve this, Elsevier creates solutions that reflect deep insight into the way its users work and the outcomes they are seeking to achieve; strives for excellence in content, service and execution; constantly adapts and revitalises its products, business models and technology; and leverages its institutional skills, assets and resources to promote innovation and efficiency.

Elsevier’s strategic priorities are to continue to increase content volume and quality; to expand content coverage, building out integrated solutions combining Elsevier, third-party and customer data; to increase content utility, using “Smart Content” to enable new e-solutions; to combine content with analytics and technology, focused on measurably improving productivity and outcomes for customers; and to continue to drive operational efficiency and effectiveness.

In the primary research market, Elsevier aims to grow volume through new journal launches, expansion of author-pays journals and growth from emerging markets; to enhance quality by building on our premium brands; and to add value to core platforms by implementing new capabilities such as advanced recommendations on ScienceDirect and social collaboration through Mendeley.

In clinical reference markets, priorities are to expand content coverage, including licensing high-quality third-party content for ClinicalKey, as well as ensuring consistent tagging to link content assets across products.

Business model, distribution channels and competition

Science and medical research is principally disseminated on a paid subscription basis to the research facilities of academic institutions, government and corporations, and, in the case of medical and healthcare journals, also to individual practitioners and medical society members. For a number of journals, advertising and promotional income represents a small proportion of revenues predominantly from pharmaceutical companies in healthcare titles.

Over the past 15 years alternative payment models for the dissemination of research such as “author-pays” or “author’s-funder-pays” have emerged. While it is expected that paid subscription will remain the primary distribution model, Elsevier has long invested in alternate business models to address the needs of customers and researchers. Over 1,600 of Elsevier’s journals now offer the option of funding research publishing and distribution via a sponsored article fee. In addition, Elsevier now publishes more than 100 open access journals.

14

Table of Contents

Electronic products, such as ScienceDirect, Scopus and ClinicalKey, are generally sold direct to customers through a dedicated sales force that has offices around the world. Subscription agents facilitate the sales and administrative process for print journals. Books are sold through traditional and online book stores, wholesalers and, particularly in medical and healthcare markets, directly to end users.

Competition within science and medical publishing is generally on a title-by-title and product-by-product basis. Competing journals, books and databases are typically published by learned societies and other professional publishers. Workflow tools face similar competition, as well as from software companies and internal solutions developed by customers.

Major brands

Elsevier is the master brand used for the business.

Elsevier’s major brands include: Cell, a life sciences journal in biochemistry and molecular biology; and The Lancet, one of the world’s leading medical journals since 1823. Many other products and journals are major brands in their fields, including: Mendeley, an innovative research management and social collaboration platform; SciVal, ready-to-use tools to analyse the world of research, and establish, execute and evaluate the best strategies for research organisations; ClinicalKey, combines reference and evidence-based medical content into its fully-integrated clinical insight engine; ScienceDirect, the world’s largest database of scientific and medical research articles; Scopus, a research performance tool for academic institutions and funding intelligence; and HESI, a suite of preparation testing and remediation resources that generate actionable data to prepare nursing and health profession students for success in pursuing degrees, passing licensure exams and starting their careers.

RISK & BUSINESS INFORMATION

In Risk & Business Information, we provide data, analytics and insight that enable customers to evaluate and manage risk. We develop market intelligence, supporting more confident decisions, improving economic outcomes, and enhancing operational efficiency.

From 2014 Risk Solutions and Business Information have been combined into one business area. This union brings together LexisNexis Risk Solutions’ proprietary, public and third-party information, advanced technology and analytics, with Reed Business Information’s high-value industry critical data services, information and tools as well as conferences, websites and business magazines.

Risk & Business Information has principal operations in Georgia, Florida, Illinois and Ohio in the US and London, Amsterdam and Shanghai. Risk & Business Information has 7,400 employees. Approximately 73% of revenue in 2014 came from North America, 22% from Europe and 5% from the rest of the world. 85% of Risk & Business Information’s revenue was delivered electronically.

Risk & Business Information is organised around market-facing industry/sector groups including insurance, business services, government, healthcare, major data services (including banking, energy and chemicals, human resources) and other leading brands. The largest of these sector groups is insurance.

The identity management and risk evaluation solutions provided by Insurance Solutions, Business Services, Government Solutions and Health Care Solutions utilise comprehensive database platforms of public records and proprietary information with more than two petabytes of unique data, which makes it the largest database of its kind in the US market today. Our market-leading technology enables Risk & Business Information to provide its customers with highly relevant search results swiftly and to create new, low-cost solutions quickly and efficiently. It is also increasingly used across other Group business areas such as Legal and Scientific, Technical & Medical.

Risk & Business Information is focused on developing a pipeline of new solutions to drive growth in existing business segments and selected adjacent markets and geographies.

Insurance Solutions provides a comprehensive combination of data and analytics to personal, commercial and life insurance carriers in the US to improve critical aspects of their business, from customer acquisition and underwriting to claims handling. Information solutions, including the most comprehensive US personal loss history database, C.L.U.E. ^® , help

15

Table of Contents

insurers assess risks and provide important inputs to pricing and underwriting insurance policies. Additional key products include LexisNexis ^® Data Prefill, which provides critical information on customers, potential customers and their auto, property and life policy information directly into the insurance workflow, and LexisNexis ^® Current Carrier, which identifies current or previous insurance coverage details as well as any lapses in coverage. Insurance Solutions released new driving behaviour products in four states in 2014. These products aggregate court data within specific states to provide insurers with vital traffic violation information for use in underwriting. In the UK, Insurance Solutions’ contributory No Claims Discount (NCD) module, which automates verification of consumers’ claims history, has achieved data contribution from over 55% of the UK auto insurance sector in just over a year.

In the Insurance business, Risk & Business Information acquired four businesses during 2014. Wunelli is an industry-leading telematics data services company based in the United Kingdom. The combined LexisNexis and Wunelli datasets will result in one of the largest provider-held insurance telematics databases in the world, with solutions to support insurers as they assess risk and discount safer drivers. Risk & Business Information also acquired three US based businesses to enhance the LexisNexis eCrash solution. iyeTek is an innovative provider of mobile and handheld software solutions, enabling public safety agencies to save time and money and improve services provided to their communities. PoliceReports.US is an online distributor of vehicle accident reports currently in use by 29 states and Coplogic is a leading provider of citizen self-reporting software solutions to law enforcement agencies. In October, a joint venture was signed with Jing You to supply data into the fast-growing auto insurance market in China.

Business Services provides financial institutions with risk management, identity management, fraud detection, credit risk management, and compliance solutions. These include Know Your Customer and Anti-Money Laundering products. The business also provides risk and identity management solutions for corporate customers in retail, telecommunications and utilities sectors. Receivables management solutions help debt recovery professionals in the segmentation, management and collection of consumer and business debt. In 2014, the group substantially advanced its international strategy, with the expansion of its international sales force, launch of a simplified Chinese language version of Bridger Insight ^® XG, a Bank Secrecy Act and Anti-Money Laundering solution, and the ongoing upgrade of the WorldCompliance heightened risk individuals database.

In Business Services, Risk & Business Information acquired Tracesmart, a United Kingdom-based provider of tracing, identity verification, fraud prevention, Anti-Money Laundering, debt collection and data cleansing solutions. Tracesmart, a leader in identity management and fraud solutions in the UK, is a natural complement to Risk & Business Information’s core competencies and brings a robust set of UK public records, allowing Risk & Business Information to extend its capabilities beyond the US in order to serve its customers more fully.

Government Solutions provides data and analytics to US federal, state and local law enforcement and government agencies to help solve criminal and intelligence cases and to identify fraud, waste and abuse in government programmes. The group’s Tax Refund Investigative Solution (TRIS), now sold into eight states and the District of Columbia, continues to generate substantial benefits for both clients and taxpayers, with results to date over $100 million in avoided fraud losses.

Health Care Solutions provides identity, fraud, and clinical analytics solutions across key stages of the healthcare workflow to enable intelligent decision making for payers and providers.

During the year, the acquisition of Health Market Science, a leading supplier of high-quality data on healthcare professionals and an administrator of one of the largest practitioner-level medical claim databases in the US, was completed.

The business also provides risk-related information to the legal industry through LexisNexis Legal & Professional.

Outside of these areas, Risk & Business Information provides information and online data services to business professionals worldwide, with high-value industry critical data services, information and tools as well as producing conferences, websites and business magazines. It has many strong global brands with market-leading positions across a wide range of industry sectors.

Data Services include: ICIS, an information and data service in chemicals, energy and fertiliser; Accuity, a provider of services and solutions to the banking and corporate sectors focused on payment efficiency, Know Your Customer, Anti-Money Laundering and compliance; and XpertHR, an online service providing regulatory guidance, best practices and tools for HR professionals. During the year, Accuity completed the acquisition of FircoSoft, a leading provider of watch list filtering solutions for financial institutions and corporates. Accuity also launched risk solutions for customers in trade finance.

Leading Brands include Flightglobal, Farmers Weekly, Boerderij, Fiscaal Totaal, Estates Gazette, Elsevier and New Scientist and deliver a mix of high quality data, workflow tools and high-value news, information and opinion to business professionals across many industry sectors while also providing an effective marketing channel for customers. During the year Flightglobal completed the acquisition of Innovata, a provider of global airline schedules data. Risk & Business Information also acquired Farmade, a UK-based supplier of crop recording, mapping and precision farming workflow tools.

16

Table of Contents

In 2014, Risk & Business Information continued to reshape its portfolio, exiting areas not core to its strategy. As part of this strategy, 51% of Reed Construction Data (RCD), a provider of online construction data and information to the construction industry was divested, and 100% of RS Means, a construction costing service which had previously been a division of RCD. Risk & Business Information also completed its exit from its Marketing Solutions businesses, including the sales of BuyerZone and emedia and one divestment of a portfolio of B2B assets from its Netherlands operation now also completed.

Market opportunities

Risk & Business Information operates in markets with strong long-term growth drivers with growing demand for high-quality industry data and information and insight including: insurance underwriting transactions; insurance, healthcare, tax and entitlement fraud; credit defaults and financial fraud; regulatory compliance and due diligence requirements surrounding customer enrolment; security and privacy considerations; and data and analytics for the banking, energy and chemicals, human resources and aviation sectors.

In the insurance segment, growth is supported by increasing transactional activity in the auto, property and life insurance markets and the increasing adoption by insurance carriers of more sophisticated data and analytics in the prospecting, underwriting and claims evaluation processes, to assess underwriting risk, increase competitiveness and improve operating cost efficiency. Transactional activity is driven by growth in insurance quoting and policy switching, as consumers seek better policy terms. This activity is stimulated by competition among insurance companies, high levels of carrier advertising, and rising levels of internet quoting and policy binding.

A number of factors support growth in banking and financial services markets, including cross-border payments and trade finance levels, new credit originations, continued high fraud losses, stringent regulatory compliance requirements, and increasing Anti-Money Laundering fines. In receivables management, demand is driven mainly by levels of consumer debt and the prospect of recovering that debt, which is impacted by employment conditions in the US. In corporate markets, demand is supported by growth in online retail sales and continued high levels of credit card fraud. Growth in government markets is driven by the increasing use of data and analytics to combat criminal activity, fraud and tax evasion, and to address security issues. The level and timing of demand in this market is influenced by government funding and revenue considerations. In Health Care, there are numerous growth drivers for fraud and analytics solutions including the expansion of insurance coverage under the Affordable Care Act and the focus on cost containment and better patient outcomes.

Growth in the global energy and chemicals markets is driven by increasing trade and demand for more sophisticated information solutions. Risk & Business Information’s aviation information markets are being driven by increases in air traffic and in the number of aircraft transactions.

Strategic priorities

Risk & Business Information’s strategic goal is to help businesses and government achieve better outcomes with information and decision support in its individual markets through better understanding of risks associated with individuals, other businesses and transactions. By providing the highest quality industry data and tools, we assist customers in understanding their markets and managing risks efficiently and cost effectively. To achieve this, Risk & Business Information is focused on: delivering innovative new products across customer workflows; expanding the range of risk management solutions across adjacent markets; addressing international opportunities in selected markets to meet local needs; further growing its data services businesses; and continuing to strengthen its content, technology, and analytical capabilities.

Business model, distribution channels and competition

Risk & Business Information’s products in Insurance, Business Services and Government are for the most part sold directly, with pricing predominantly on a transactional basis for insurance carriers and corporations, and primarily on a subscription basis for government entities.

Data services are typically sold directly on a subscription or transactional basis. Business magazines are mainly distributed on a paid basis. Advertising revenues are sold directly.

Risk & Business Information and Verisk, a competitor, each sell data and analytics solutions to insurance carriers but largely address different activities. Risk & Business Information’s principal competitors in business services and government segments include Thomson Reuters and major credit bureaus, which in many cases address different activities in these segments as well.

Risk & Business Information’s data services and leading brands compete with a number of information providers on a service and title-by-title basis including: Platts, Thomson Reuters, IHS and Wolters Kluwer as well as many niche and privately owned competitors. Risk & Business Information competes for online advertising with other business-to-business websites, search engines and social media.

17

Table of Contents

Across Risk & Business Information, subscription revenues now account for 94% of the total business with the remaining 6% derived from print and online advertising.

Major brands

Risk & Business Information’s major brands include: C.L.U.E. ^® , a comprehensive US personal insurance claims database; LexisNexis ^® Data Prefill, tools to automate the insurance application process providing critical information insurers need to quote and underwrite a policy; LexisNexis ^® Identity Management, a range of solutions to help clients verify that an identity exists and authenticate individuals; LexisNexis ^® Anti-Money Laundering Solutions, content and information for anti-money laundering compliance, risk mitigation and enhanced due diligence; LexisNexis ^® Revenue Recovery and Discovery, a suite of tools to enable governments to leverage public records and analytics to identify instances of fraud and to more efficiently collect on outstanding debts; Accuity, a provider of payment efficiency solutions, AML and KYC services and compliance tools for the banking and corporate sectors worldwide; ICIS, a global provider of news, price benchmarks, data, analytics and research to the energy, chemical and fertiliser industries; and Flightglobal, a data, news and advisory service for professionals working in the aviation industry.

LEGAL

In Legal markets, we are a leading provider of legal, regulatory and news & business information and analysis to law firm, corporate, government and academic customers.

Serving customers in more than 175 countries, LexisNexis Legal & Professional provides resources and services that inform decisions, increase productivity and drive new business.

LexisNexis Legal & Professional is headquartered in New York and has principal operations in the New York area, Ohio and North Carolina in the US, Toronto in Canada, London and Paris in Europe, and cities in several other countries in Africa and Asia Pacific. It has 9,500 employees worldwide. In 2014, approximately 79% of the revenue came from subscription sales and 21% from transactional sales. Approximately 66% of revenue by destination in 2014 was derived from North America, 23% from Europe and the remaining 11% from the rest of the world. 77% of Legal’s revenue was delivered electronically.

LexisNexis Legal & Professional is organised in market-facing groups. These are supported by global shared services organisations providing platform and product development, operational and distribution services, and other support functions.

In North America, electronic information solutions and innovative workflow tools from Research Solutions help legal and business professionals make better informed decisions in the practice of law and in managing their businesses. Flagship products for legal research are Lexis.com and Lexis Advance, which provide federal and state statutes and case law, together with analysis and expert commentaries from sources such as Matthew Bender and Michie and the leading citation service Shepard’s, which advises on the continuing relevance of case law precedents. Research solutions also include news and business information, ranging from daily news to company filings, as well as public records information and analytics. LexisNexis also partners with law schools to provide services to students as part of their training.

In 2014, LexisNexis continued to release new versions of Lexis Advance, an innovative web application designed to transform how legal professionals conduct research. Built on an advanced technology platform, Lexis Advance allows primary researchers within legal and professional organisations to find relevant information more easily and efficiently, helping them to drive better outcomes. Future releases will continue to expand content and outreach and add new innovative tools. LexisNexis employs lawyers and trained editors with professional legal backgrounds who review, annotate and update the legal content to help ensure each document in the collection is current and comprehensive. This domain expertise combined with the application of our “big data” HPCC technology means the Group is able to update its entire legal collection faster and more efficiently, while also identifying and linking content, enabling customers to uncover previously undiscovered relationships between documents.

New workflow and analytical tools and content sets are regularly introduced on Lexis Advance. For example, in 2014 LexisNexis launched LexisNexis Counsel Benchmarking, a new analytics solution that works with Verdict & Settlement Analyzer to inform litigation strategy decisions. Also, LexisNexis launched new modules for Lexis Practice Advisor, a web-based practical guidance product tailored for attorneys who handle transactional matters.

LexisNexis Business & Litigation Software Solutions serves as the software arm for the company. Its business of law software provides law firms with practice management solutions, including time and billing systems, case management, cost

18

Table of Contents

recovery and document management services. Its litigation software provides lawyers with a suite of tools covering case preparation to processing and review to trial preparation. During 2014, LexisNexis released multiple new versions for its existing portfolio including CounselLink, PCLaw, Sanction and Firm Manager.

In International markets outside the US, LexisNexis serves legal, corporate, government, accounting and academic markets in Europe, Canada, Africa and Asia Pacific with local and international legal, regulatory and business information. The most significant businesses are in the UK, France, Australia, Canada and South Africa.

LexisNexis focuses on providing customers with leading collections of content and innovative online solutions to help legal and business professionals make better decisions more efficiently. Penetration of online information services has grown strongly and electronic solutions now account for 63% of revenue outside the US.

In the UK, LexisNexis is a leading legal information provider offering an unrivalled collection of primary and secondary legislation, case law, expert commentary, and forms and precedents. Its extensive portfolio includes a number of heritage brands: Halsbury’s, Tolleys and Butterworths. The content is delivered through multiple formats – from print to online to mobile apps and embedded in customers’ workflow.

In 2014, LexisNexis launched additional modules for the UK LexisPSL product suite which provides lawyers a single destination for their practical legal information needs with direct links to the relevant cases, legislation, precedents, forms, practical guidance and expert commentary.

In France, LexisNexis is a leading online provider of information to lawyers, notaries and courts. A heritage brand JurisClasseur and leading authoritative content is provided through multiple formats – lexisnexis.fr, mobile and in print. These content sources are, as in the UK, being combined with new content and innovative workflow tools to develop practical guidance and practice management solutions. In 2014, LexisNexis France continued to enhance Lexis 360, the first semantic search online tool combining legal information, practical content and results from the web by providing tailored solutions for the public sector and the accounting markets.

Additional practical guidance solutions were launched in Canada, South Africa and Australia. Following the continued success of Lexis Advance in the US, an Australian version was launched in 2014 and additional international launches are planned.

In 2014, LexisNexis Legal & Professional strengthened its positions in Asia by introducing products created specifically for legal professionals and practitioners, corporate counsels, legal researchers and government institutions in markets including India, China and Japan. New practical guidance offerings are now available in China, Hong Kong and Japan. Also, LexisNexis continued its investment in broadening its core content offerings in India, Singapore and other countries in the region.

Market opportunities

Longer-term growth in legal and regulatory markets worldwide is driven by increasing levels of legislation, regulation, regulatory complexity and litigation, and an increasing number of lawyers.

Additional market opportunities are presented by the increasing demand for online information solutions and practice management tools that improve the quality and productivity of research, deliver better legal outcomes, and improve business performance. Notwithstanding this, legal activity and legal information markets are also influenced by economic conditions and corporate activity, as has been seen with the dampening of demand and the subdued market environment in North America and Europe in the aftermath of the global recession.

Strategic priorities

LexisNexis Legal & Professional’s strategic goal is to enable better legal outcomes and be the leading provider of productivity-enhancing information and information-based workflow solutions in its markets. To achieve this LexisNexis is focused on introducing next generation products and solutions on the global New Lexis platform and infrastructure; leveraging New Lexis globally to continue to drive print to electronic migration and long-term international growth; and upgrading operational infrastructure, improving process efficiency and gradually improving margins.

In the US, LexisNexis’ focus is on the continuing development of next generation legal research and practice solutions. It is also conducting a major upgrade in operations infrastructure and customer service and support platforms. This will provide customers with an integrated and superior experience across multiple products and solutions. Over the next few years progressive product introductions, often based on the New Lexis platform, leveraging big data HPCC technology, will combine advanced technology with enriched content, sophisticated analytics and applications to enable LexisNexis’ customers to make better legal decisions and drive better outcomes for their organisations and clients.

19

Table of Contents

Outside the US, LexisNexis is focused on growing online services and developing further high-quality actionable content and workflow tools, including the continuous development of practical guidance and practice management applications. In 2015, LexisNexis will continue to introduce New Lexis globally. Additionally, LexisNexis is focusing on the expansion of its activities in emerging markets.

Business model, distribution channels and competition

LexisNexis Legal & Professional products and services are generally sold directly to law firms and to corporate, government, accounting and academic customers on a paid subscription basis, with subscriptions with law firms often under multi-year contracts.

Principal competitors for LexisNexis in US legal markets are West (Thomson Reuters), CCH (Wolters Kluwer) and Bloomberg. In news and business information they are Bloomberg and Factiva (News Corporation). Competitors in litigation solutions also include software companies. Significant international competitors include Thomson Reuters, Wolters Kluwer and Factiva.

Major brands

LexisNexis is the master brand used by LexisNexis Legal & Professional.

LexisNexis Legal & Professional’s major brands include: Lexis ^® , legal, news and public records content for legal professionals; Matthew Bender ^® , critical analysis, checklists, forms, and practice guides authored by industry experts covering over 50 major practice areas; Lexis ^® Library, LexisNexis ^® UK flagship legal online product; Lexis ^® PSL, LexisNexis ^® UK legal practical guidance service; Shepard’s Citations Service, a citation service; Lexis Advance, a new online legal research tool that transforms the way legal professionals conduct research; Lexis Practice Advisor, a new resource that offers guidance to help attorneys handle transactional matters more efficiently and effectively; and Law360, a legal news provider covering the entire spectrum of practice areas every single business day.

EXHIBITIONS

Reed Exhibitions is a leading exhibitions business, with 500 events in over 30 countries.

Reed Exhibitions’ portfolio of exhibitions and conferences serves 43 industry sectors across the globe. In 2014, Reed Exhibitions brought together over 7 million event participants from around the world, generating billions of dollars of business and facilitating entry into new markets for its customers and boosting the local economies where the events are hosted.

Reed Exhibitions is a global business headquartered in London and has principal offices in Paris, Vienna, Norwalk (Connecticut), São Paulo, Abu Dhabi, Beijing, Moscow, Tokyo, and Sydney. Reed Exhibitions has 3,700 employees worldwide. In 2014, approximately 70% of Exhibitions’ revenue is derived from exhibitor participation fees, with the balance primarily comprising of conference fees, online and offline advertising, sponsorship fees and admission charges. Approximately 16% of Exhibitions’ revenue came from North America, 47% from Europe and the remaining 37% from the rest of the world on an event location basis.

Reed Exhibitions organises market-leading events which are relevant to industry needs, where participants from around the world meet face-to-face to do business, to network and to learn. Its exhibitions and conferences encompass a wide range of sectors. They include construction, cosmetics, electronics, energy and alternative energy, engineering, entertainment, gifts and jewellery, healthcare, hospitality, interior design, logistics, manufacturing, pharmaceuticals, real estate, recreation, security and safety, transport and travel.

Market opportunities

Growth in the exhibitions market is influenced by both business-to-business marketing spend and business investment. Historically, these have been driven by levels of corporate profitability, which in its turn has followed overall growth in GDP. Emerging markets and higher growth sectors provide additional opportunities for Reed Exhibitions. As some events are held other than annually, growth in any one year is affected by the cycle of non-annual exhibitions.

20

Table of Contents

Strategic priorities

Reed Exhibitions’ strategic goal is to understand and respond to its customers’ evolving needs and objectives better than its competition through deep knowledge of its customers and the markets they serve.

Reed Exhibitions delivers a platform for industry communities to conduct business, to network and to learn through a range of market-leading events in growth sectors, especially in higher growth geographies, enabling exhibitors to target and reach new customers quickly and cost effectively.

Organic growth will be achieved by continuing to generate greater customer value through the intelligent application of customer knowledge, by developing new events, and by building out technology platforms to ensure the rapid deployment of innovation and best practices across the organisation. Reed Exhibitions is also shaping its portfolio through a combination of strategic partnerships and acquisitions in high-growth sectors and geographies as well as by withdrawing from markets and industries with lower long-term growth prospects.

Reed Exhibitions is committed to continually improving customer solutions and experience. By providing a variety of services, including its integrated web platform, we continue to drive customer satisfaction. Using customer insights, Reed Exhibitions has developed an innovative product offering which enhances the value proposition for exhibitors by broadening their options in terms of the type and location of stand they take and the timing of their commitment to the event.

In 2014 Reed Exhibitions launched 36 new events. These included many events which delivered on the strategy of taking sector expertise, customer relationships and leading brands from one market and extending them into new geographies using local operational capability. Mipim, the leading property show held annually in Cannes, responded to the buoyant UK property market with the launch of an offshoot in London, FIBO China (health and fitness) was launched in Shanghai, building on the successful and long running German event FIBO, and in Singapore, Reed Exhibitions launched an Asian version of Maison&Objet, the leading design-led home and furniture show held twice a year in Paris.

A number of targeted acquisitions and investments were completed during 2014. Increasing its holding in Reed Tüyap gave Reed Exhibitions a strong position in Turkey, and with the acquisition of Fidalex and AFG, Reed Exhibitions achieved market leader status in Mexico. The Mexican acquisitions brought events such as Expo Carga (transport and logistics) and the Beauty Show into its portfolio. In addition, an investment in the Bakery event, serving the bakery and confectionery industry, broadening its footprint in China.

Business model, distribution channels and competition

The substantial majority of Reed Exhibitions’ revenues are from sales of exhibition space. The balance includes conference fees, online and offline advertising, sponsorship fees and, for some shows, admission charges. Exhibition space is sold directly or through local agents where applicable. Reed Exhibitions often works in collaboration with trade associations, which use the events to promote access for members to domestic and export markets, and with governments, for whom events can provide important support to stimulate foreign investment and promote regional and national enterprise. Increasingly, Reed Exhibitions is offering visitors and exhibitors the opportunity to interact before and after the show through the use of online and mobile tools such as directories and matchmaking.

Reed Exhibitions is the global market leader in a fragmented industry, holding less than a 10% global market share. Other international exhibition organisers include UBM, Informa IIR and some of the larger German Messe, including Messe Frankfurt, Messe Düsseldorf and Messe Munich. Competition also comes from industry trade associations and convention centre and exhibition hall owners.

Major brands

Reed Exhibitions’ major brands include: Mipim, the world’s property market; World Travel Market, an event for the travel industry; fiac!, an international contemporary art fair; Aluminium China, Asia’s sourcing and networking platform for the complete aluminium industry chain; Manufacturing World Tokyo, Japan’s largest trade show for the manufacturing industry; Mecanica, an international machinery trade fair; JCK Las Vegas, a North American jewellery industry trade event; and Pax Prime, a game festival for Tabletop, Videogame and PC Gamers.

ELSEVIER REED FINANCE BV

Elsevier Reed Finance BV, the Dutch parent company of the Elsevier Reed Finance BV group (“ERF”), was directly owned by Reed Elsevier PLC and Reed Elsevier NV during 2014. Effective February 25, 2015, Reed Elsevier PLC and Reed Elsevier NV transferred their direct ownership interests in ERF to their jointly-owned company Reed Elsevier Group plc. See

21

Table of Contents

“Organisational Structure — Proposed Modifications to Corporate Structure, Equalisation Arrangements and Corporate Entity Names”. ERF provided treasury, finance, intellectual property and reinsurance services to the Group businesses through its subsidiaries in Switzerland: Elsevier Finance SA (“EFSA”), Reed Elsevier Properties SA (“REPSA”) and Elsevier Risks SA (“ERSA”). These three Swiss companies were organised under one Swiss holding company, which was in turn owned by ERF.

EFSA is the principal treasury centre for the combined businesses. It is responsible for all aspects of treasury advice and support for certain Group businesses, and undertakes foreign exchange and derivatives dealing services for the whole Group. EFSA also arranges or directly provides the Group businesses with financing for acquisitions, product development and other general requirements and manages cash pools, investments and debt programmes on their behalf. REPSA actively manages intellectual property assets including trademarks such as The Lancet and databases such as Reaxys and PharmaPendium. ERSA is responsible for reinsurance activities for the Group.

GOVERNMENT REGULATION

Certain of our businesses provide authorised customers with products and services such as access to public records and other information on individuals. Our businesses that provide such products and services are subject to applicable privacy and consumer information laws and regulations, including US federal and state and EU and member state regulation. Our compliance obligations vary from regulator to regulator, and may include, among other things, strict data security programs, submissions of regulatory reports, providing consumers with certain notices and correcting inaccuracies in applicable reports. We are also subject to the terms of consent decrees and other settlements with certain regulators in the U.S. See “Item 8: Financial Information — Legal Proceedings” on page 72.

Section 219 of the Iran Threat Reduction and Syrian Human Rights Act of 2012 (the “ITRA”), which added Section 13(r) to the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”), requires disclosures regarding certain activities relating to Iran or with persons designated pursuant to various U.S. Presidential Executive Orders. These disclosures are required even where the activities, transactions or dealings were conducted in compliance with applicable law. The ownership or control of our customers in Iran is often difficult to determine with certainty.

During 2014,

Numerous Iranian nationals attended conferences organised by our exhibitions business. Individuals located in Iran also subscribed to or purchased certain of our scientific, medical and technical publications. Many of these individuals are researchers, doctors or other professionals who have obtained subscriptions or purchased publications in their individual capacity, but who may be employed by government agencies in Iran or by hospitals, universities or other entities owned or controlled by the government of Iran. In addition, we work with authors, other contributors and journal editorial board members who are located in Iran, many of whom are employed at hospitals, universities or research institutions that are owned or controlled by the government of Iran. We also sometimes receive payments from authors located in Iran who pay us to make their articles publicly available.

During 2014, our aggregate revenue from the foregoing activities was approximately £6.3 million. We do not normally allocate net profit on a subscription-by-subscription, individual customer or country-by-country basis. However, we estimate that our net profit from these activities, after internal cost allocations, amounted to 0.1% of our net profit reported in our combined income statement for the year ended December 31, 2014.

We believe these transactions and dealings were lawful under applicable laws and regulations and anticipate that similar transactions or dealings may occur in the future.

22

Table of Contents

ORGANISATIONAL STRUCTURE

Reed Elsevier PLC was originally incorporated in 1903 and Reed Elsevier NV was originally incorporated in 1880. Their businesses were combined in 1993. A description of our corporate structure as of December 31, 2014 is contained in note 1 to our combined financial statements on page F-10.

Proposed Modifications to Corporate Structure, Equalisation Arrangements and Corporate Entity Names

During 2014, the Boards carried out a review of our corporate structure and equalisation arrangements to explore ways in which it might be simplified and modernised. Certain changes have recently been made and others are being proposed to shareholders at the Annual General Meetings of Reed Elsevier PLC and Reed Elsevier NV to be held in April 2015. None of these changes will impact the economic or voting interests of any shareholder. In particular, dividend and capital distribution rights are unaffected. All parent company guarantees over debt are also unaffected.

Corporate Structure

Effective February 25, 2015, Reed Elsevier PLC and Reed Elsevier NV transferred their direct ownership interests in Elsevier Reed Finance BV to their jointly-owned company Reed Elsevier Group plc and named this newly-combined single group entity RELX Group plc. As a result, RELX Group plc now holds the businesses and subsidiaries, and carries out the Group’s financing activities.

Shareholders in Reed Elsevier PLC hold a 52.9% economic interest in the combined businesses. Reed Elsevier PLC owns a 50% direct holding in RELX Group plc and has a 5.8% shareholding in Reed Elsevier NV. All other shareholders (other than Reed Elsevier PLC) in Reed Elsevier NV hold a 47.1% economic interest in the combined businesses. In order to simplify the corporate structure and make the respective economic interests of the two parent companies’ shareholders more transparent we have proposed that Reed Elsevier PLC’s 5.8% shareholding in Reed Elsevier NV be replaced by a 2.9% direct (non-voting) shareholding in RELX Group plc. As a result, Reed Elsevier PLC’s direct equity holding in RELX Group plc will become 52.9% and Reed Elsevier NV’s direct equity holding in RELX Group plc will become 47.1%, which aligns with their shareholders’ respective economic interests.

The revised corporate structure, reflecting the changes that became effective February 25, 2015 and those being proposed to shareholders, is as follows:

Equalisation Arrangements

Presently the equalisation ratio of Reed Elsevier PLC to Reed Elsevier NV shares is such that one Reed Elsevier NV ordinary share is generally intended to confer equivalent economic interests to 1.538 Reed Elsevier PLC ordinary shares. At its Annual General Meeting in April 2015, Reed Elsevier NV is proposing a resolution to issue additional bonus ordinary shares to existing Reed Elsevier NV shareholders on the basis of 0.538 bonus shares for each share held. If approved by shareholders, this will result in one ordinary share of Reed Elsevier NV conferring equivalent economic interests to one ordinary share of Reed Elsevier PLC. The reduction in the per share economic interests of Reed Elsevier NV shareholders as a

23

Table of Contents

result of the increase in the number of Reed Elsevier NV shares will be correspondingly offset by the number of additional shares each Reed Elsevier NV shareholder receives in the bonus issue, leaving the economic interest of each shareholder unchanged. Reed Elsevier PLC and Reed Elsevier NV ADRs on the New York Stock Exchange will also be adjusted so that they each represent one Reed Elsevier PLC or one Reed Elsevier NV ordinary share (from their current 4-to-1 and 2-to-1 ratios respectively).

By moving from the current 1.538-to-1 to a new 1-to-1 equalisation ratio between Reed Elsevier PLC and Reed Elsevier NV ordinary shares, capital rights (on a per share basis), dividends per share (on a gross basis including, with respect to the dividend on Reed Elsevier PLC ordinary shares, the associated UK tax credit) and adjusted earnings per share all will be readily identifiable as substantially equivalent between ordinary shares as well as their respective ADRs, subject only to the prevailing currency exchange rates between pounds sterling, euros or US dollars. This will also make it simpler to compare the prices of Reed Elsevier PLC and Reed Elsevier NV ordinary shares as well as their respective ADRs.

Subject to shareholder approval of the issuance of additional bonus shares by Reed Elsevier NV, the bonus issue, the changes to the number of Reed Elsevier PLC and Reed Elsevier NV ADRs and the requisite amendments to the Governing Agreement, all will be effective as of July 1, 2015.

Corporate Entity Names

Along with the proposed changes to the corporate structure, the Boards undertook a review of the names of the corporate entities. Following that review, as already noted, the Boards determined that as part of the transfer of ownership of Elsevier Reed Finance BV from Reed Elsevier PLC and Reed Elsevier NV to Reed Elsevier Group plc it was appropriate to name the newly-combined entity that holds the businesses and subsidiaries, and carries out the Group’s financing activities, RELX Group plc. The Boards believe this shorter and more modern name reflects the transformation of the Group to a technology, content and analytics driven business while at the same time maintaining the link with its proud heritage. The Boards are proposing to shareholders at the Annual General Meetings in 2015 to also change the corporate names of Reed Elsevier PLC and Reed Elsevier NV to RELX PLC and RELX NV, respectively. There will not be any brand or name changes for any customer facing products or business units.

Shareholder Approval

As noted, certain of the structural changes and the change of name of the two parent companies, Reed Elsevier PLC and Reed Elsevier NV, will require the approval of shareholders. Detailed descriptions of the resolutions to be put to the Annual General Meetings of Reed Elsevier PLC and Reed Elsevier NV in April 2015 will be set out in the respective Notices of Annual General Meeting.

Significant Subsidiaries, Associates, Joint Ventures and Business Units

A list of significant subsidiaries, associates, joint ventures and business units is included under Item 19: Exhibits on pages S-3 and S-4.

INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY

Our products and services are largely comprised of intellectual property content delivered through a variety of media, including online, journals and books. We rely on trademark, copyright, patent, trade secret and other intellectual property laws, as well as in some cases licensing arrangements with third parties, to establish and protect our proprietary rights in these products and services.

24

Table of Contents

All of the above properties are substantially occupied by our businesses with the exception of the New York, New York property, where we occupy less than half of the floor space.

No property owned or leased by us which is considered material to us taken as a whole is presently subject to liabilities relating to environmental regulations and none has major encumbrances.

25

Table of Contents