Anglo-Dutch publisher Reed Elsevier is to sell its trade magazine arm as part of a restructuring plan.

It wants to become less reliant on advertising, which is the crux of volatility in its trade arm.

Affected titles include Lancet medical journal and New Scientist magazine.

To offset the drop in income, it has bought insurance data specialist Choicepoint for $4.1 billion to target the risk information and data analysis market.

The media industry is going through tough times at the moment, particularly companies that are dependent on advertising from the retail financial services sector.

Shares in Aim-quoted Charterhouse Communications, which publishes mortgage trade magazines, were suspended this morning over funding concerns.

It has said on several occasions in the past few months that mortgage-related advertising has slowed down following the sub-prime slump and credit crisis in 2007.