View all newsletters
Sign up for our free email newsletters

Fighting for quality news media in the digital age.

  1. Archive content
June 23, 2005updated 22 Nov 2022 3:51pm

Highbury deal puts Future in UK’s fifth place

By Press Gazette

By Maxine Clayman

Future has completed its acquisition of 38 Highbury House titles and
related businesses, making it the fifth-largest consumer magazine
publisher in the UK.

The deal, agreed for £30.5m, sees Future adding a variety of health,
home entertainment and puzzle publications to its UK portfolio.

These
include Health & Fitness, DVD Review and Puzzle Monthly, with
Future also acquiring Highbury’s five US titles, which incorporate
Women’s Health & Fitness and Pregnancy.

Initially, Future had
agreed to buy Highbury in its entirety, but the deal collapsed after
the Office of Fair Trading raised concerns that Future would have a
monopoly on the games magazine market.

Robert Price, UK managing
director for Future, maintains that the company’s focus is on
specialist interest publishing and believes the magazines and websites
it has acquired will serve to strengthen its position.

Price
reiterated that jobs will be safe for the existing staff and there is
no intention to relocating them to Bath – rather, it is proposed that
there will be one London location, in the West End.

Content from our partners
MHP Group's 30 To Watch awards for young journalists open for entries
How PA Media is helping newspapers make the digital transition
Publishing on the open web is broken, how generative AI could help fix it

Commenting on
the deal, Price said: “This is a great strategic fit for us, in markets
we know well and can add value to. We are looking to launch at least 10
to 12 magazines next year.”

Email pged@pressgazette.co.uk to point out mistakes, provide story tips or send in a letter for publication on our "Letters Page" blog

Select and enter your email address Weekly insight into the big strategic issues affecting the future of the news industry. Essential reading for media leaders every Thursday. Your morning brew of news about the world of news from Press Gazette and elsewhere in the media. Sent at around 10am UK time. Our weekly does of strategic insight about the future of news media aimed at US readers. A fortnightly update from the front-line of news and advertising. Aimed at marketers and those involved in the advertising industry.
  • Business owner/co-owner
  • CEO
  • COO
  • CFO
  • CTO
  • Chairperson
  • Non-Exec Director
  • Other C-Suite
  • Managing Director
  • President/Partner
  • Senior Executive/SVP or Corporate VP or equivalent
  • Director or equivalent
  • Group or Senior Manager
  • Head of Department/Function
  • Manager
  • Non-manager
  • Retired
  • Other
Visit our privacy Policy for more information about our services, how New Statesman Media Group may use, process and share your personal data, including information on your rights in respect of your personal data and how you can unsubscribe from future marketing communications.
Thank you

Thanks for subscribing.

Websites in our network