B2B publisher Centaur Media plans to sell off The Lawyer and Money Marketing titles in ‘simplification’ of business structure

Centaur Media is looking to sell off The Lawyer magazine and financial services titles Money Marketing and Mortgage Strategy in a bid to “simplify” its business.

The b2b publisher has appointed Livingstone Partners to advise on the potential sale of The Lawyer, which moved from being a weekly to a monthly magazine last year as the company turned its focus on digital.

It has also appointed Cavendish Corporate Finance to advise on the sale of its financial services division, including weekly newspaper Money Marketing and financial website Mortgage Strategy.

Financial services digital platform Headline Money, research business Platforums and marketing service Taxbriefs could also be up for sale.

The publisher said in a trading update last month that it expected to see a year-on-year growth in adjusted operating profit of 18 per cent – between £5m and £5.5m – for 2018.

It put the rise in profits down to stronger performances from a number of its brands, most notably The Lawyer and Marketing Week’s Festival of Marketing event.

The financial services division has “maintained its profitability at an increased margin”, the company added.

An increased focus on digital over print has helped the company “reduce its reliance on advertising and print, develop subscription revenues and generate growth through new product development”.

It said therefore that it planned to “accelerate the simplification of the group’s structure by exploring the divestment of select businesses”.

This restructure would deliver operational benefits, generate central cost savings and help focus attention on the leading brands within the marketing division, Centaur said.

The publisher is also planning to sell off its events division, with Cavendish acting as advisers.

Chief executive Andria Vidler told Press Gazette in a statement that advisers would help the company “deliver on our strategy to create a more focused business with good opportunities to grow its revenues and margins”.

She added: “We will work with our advisers to explore divestment possibilities and ensure that shareholder value is maximised.”

Centaur sold its home interest division, including the magazines Homebuilding and Renovating, Period Living, and Real Homes to Future Publishing in July last year.

The company said it has received approaches for a number of its assets from potential trade and private equity buyers in recent months.

Centaur’s continues to publish The Engineer, and Marketing Week.

Topics in this article : Centaur Media