Tom Bureau is bucking the gloom in magazines. He heads Immediate Media, which bought Radio Times and the licence to publish other titles such as Top Gear from the BBC in a £121 million deal in 2011.
Last year, Immediate’s revenues rose 3% to £150 million while profits before exceptionals leapt 24% to £26.5 million. The latest financial year will show profits hit £29.5 million.
Now Bureau is getting out the chequebook again. Immediate’s private-equity owner, Exponent, is paying about £22 million for more than a dozen sport and craft titles including Cycling Plus and Mollie Makes from under-pressure rival Future. The deal adds about £20 million of sales and £6 million in profits.
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