Hearst Magazine has sold the magazines Pyschologies and Coast to Kent-based specialist publisher Kelsey Publishing.
Coast, which was solely owned by Hearst, has been sold outright to the family company while the licence with Groupe Psychologies to publish Psychologies in the UK has also been transferred.
Hearst said that after a ‘short period of consultation’the Psychologies and Coast teams will move from central London to the Kelsey HQ in Cudham, near Bromley, in Kent and that there would be no interruption to the publishing schedule of either title.
It is not yet known if there will be any job losses as a result of the sale.
Psychologies UK, which launched in 2005, was one of the big strugglers in the women’s lifestyle sector last year, with circulation down 13 per cent to 104,491.
Its circulation peaked at 150,112 in 2008 but fell by 30 per cent in the following three years, according to circulation figures from ABC.
Coast, a monthly magazine described as the ‘essential, fun-loving magazine about the British seaside”, has an average circulation of 40,464 – up 99 per cent since 2005 but down 5 per cent year on year.
Kelsey’s other titles include Practical Poultry, Tractor & Machinery and Practical Pig Keeper.
Earlier this month it acquired Trucking and Truckstop News from Future for around £1m, and in September 2010 it bought Cage & Aviary Birds, Britain’s only bird keeping weekly, from IPC Media.
In May 2009 it bought Good Homes from BBC Worldwide for an undisclosed sum, saving 17 jobs in the process.
Commenting on the sales of Coast and Psychologies, Hearst Magazines UK chief executive Arnaud de Puyfontaine said: ‘The decision to sell Coast Magazine and transfer our Psychologies UK licence to Kelsey Publishing Ltd is part of our overall strategy to focus on our core print titles and digital expansion.
‘This move will enable both brands to grow and succeed under new ownership and we wish the team at Coast and Psychologies the very best for the future.”
Kelsey Publishing managing director Steve Wright said: ‘We are proud to take on these two upmarket publications.
‘Coast complements our portfolio of home interest magazines, while Psychologies, which is a prestigious international brand, will be our biggest title.
‘This is a new and major strategic step in the development of Kelsey Publishing.’
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