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half-year were £81m compared to just £200,000 for the whole year in 2017. Under its CEO, Zillah Byng-Torne (see box), it has pursued a policy of relentless acquisition, most recently completing the purchase of TI Media for £140m in April 2020 and then Dennis Publishing for £300m in August 2021. Te deals have brought famous titles, including Country Life and Te Week, into Future’s portfolio of 163 brands (plus 43 in the US). But the acquisition spree, which means the UK magazine sector is increasingly dominated by three publishers (Future, Bauer Media and Immediate Media), is not necessarily good news for journalists. “Tere are concerns among members that, when there is consolidation in the industry, redundancies follow that process of rationalisation,” says Pamela Morton. “Tere can also be a worsening of contractual terms.” Bauer, part of a media group headquartered in Hamburg, has announced the relocation of its UK business to a new home, “Te Lantern”, in London’s Euston. Chris Duncan, who moved from Te Times to become head of Bauer’s magazine arm, described the move as “a pivotal moment” that enables closer relationships between the company’s publishing brands and other media properties with the company which owns the Absolute and Kiss radio networks. Lockdown did lasting damage to celebrity magazines since readers were still able to access entertainment news online. Bauer’s Heat and Closer both posted big circulation falls at the last ABCs but specialist hobby titles benefited from people having more time at home. Bauer’s Garden Answers, a monthly, increased subscriptions by 62 per cent although its newsstand sales faltered slightly as a likely consequence of Covid-19 restrictions. Gardeners’ World, published by Immediate, has been one of the standout magazine sector successes, growing circulation last year by 36 per cent to 301,026. As Covid regulations have


been liſted, publishers have been able to bring back live events. “Gardeners’ World Live” was held at the National Exhibition Centre in Birmingham in June and the magazine hosted a Spring Fair at Beaulieu in the New Forest. It also plans an Autumn Fair at Audley End in Essex in September. Immediate also has a German owner, Munich-based Hubert Burda Media, which acquired the Radio Times publisher in 2017. Last year was its strongest performance ever, with combined print and digital circulation up by 13 per cent and subscriptions by 20 per cent. It, too, has moved into commerce on its digital editions. Gardeners’ World helps readers to buy tools, Good Food reviews kitchen appliances and offers the chance to buy, while the Radio Times site makes money with affiliate deals on games consoles. Immediate chief revenue officer, Duncan Tickell, says that while the company is not immune to the rising costs of energy, transport and materials, its brands have proved remarkably


Future Leader


So stratospheric has been her ascent that Te Daily Mail refers to Future’s former finance officer, Zillah Byng- Torne, as “the Queen of Publishing”. Certainly, she enjoys a royal income. With total remuneration of more than £8.8m in 2002-21, she was the magazine sector’s highest performer in a media rich list compiled by Press Gazete. Is she worth it? Having joined Future in 2014 as


a part-time head of finances, Byng- Torne was asked to step up to CEO just months later, replacing the former ITN chief, Mark Wood, as it was posting profit warnings. She has described the business then as “a litle bit broke in terms of its morale”. In her previous job at Autotrader she became adept at turning print operations into


resilient during the pandemic and it will focus on “things which are within our control”, such as building its content offering.


In a period where a surge in digital magazine sales has at least partly compensated for the continued downturn in print sales, no title has fared beter than Te Economist. In June, the publisher posted record revenues, with subscriptions to the tile at 1,185,000 and digital income making up 55 per cent of revenues.


But Te Economist Group is now far more than just the magazine (or “newspaper”), which makes up just one of four pillars of the business. Te rest are in education courses, client solutions and research/analysis. New ways of working are creating extra


pressure, says Liz Else, chair of the NUJ’s Magazines and Books Industrial Council, with tighter deadlines, new technology to master and unrealistic targets. In the face of adversity, the magazine


sector fights on, even if it no longer seems to know quite what to call itself.


digital e-commerce platforms. Under her leadership Future has


surged to undreamed of revenues and profits following a determined strategy of acquisition that ate up a series of rival publishing stables, from TI Media to Dennis Publishing, and even the money comparison website, GoCompare. But not everyone was happy -- she faced a shareholder backlash over a package that could see her paid £40m in shares by 2025. Mathew Earl, managing partner of


hedge fund ShadowFall, claimed the CEO and her colleagues had “cashed in” on Future’s growth and that its shares were overvalued. Byng-Torne argues that the company is “incredibly robust” and Sir Peter Wood, former chair of GoCompare and a major Future shareholder, told the Financial Times she is “worth every penny”.


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