Highlights for the year ended 31 December 2018
- Turnover of £10.5m, up 75% on the prior year
- EBITDA of £1.34m up by 313% compared to the prior year
- Operating profit of £1.29m
- Net cash balance at 31 December 2018 of £1.5m
These results represent a strong performance for the Group. We pride ourselves on the experience, dedication and commitment of our staff who are successful because they are passionate about their brand and are trusted by readers and commercial partners alike.
The Group made significant progress in the period against its strategy, acquiring three specialist media brands over the period which focus on the following enthusiast communities:
Fishing: In February 2018, the group acquired Hoop Holdings Ltd, publisher of three leading consumer magazines, two B2B magazines and consumer websites and organiser of events in the fishing sector. Hoop Holdings also owns two e-commerce websites and a third-party fulfilment and warehousing operation.
Woodworking: In February 2018, the group acquired a consumer woodworking and power tool show in the North of England along with the leading woodworking B2B magazine. With this bolt-on acquisition to our existing woodworking assets in the UK, the group has considerably strengthened its position in this market. This exemplifies our strategy of developing increasingly deep relationships within specialist communities.
Home Technology: In March 2018, the group expanded into the US market through the acquisition of six leading consumer magazines and websites in the home technology sector from TEN, a company controlled by GoldenTree Asset Management. This acquisition deepened our reach in the home technology sector, transforming our existing operations into a transatlantic business with the leading media brands in both the UK and US now in our portfolio. This enables us to better serve our international manufacturer and distributor customers. The acquisition once again illustrates our ability to acquire assets from large corporate operators and successfully integrate them onto our platform, regardless of location.
The Group expects to continue to execute its strategy for growth through acquisition and product development. The group’s results may be affected by current UK political and macro-economic uncertainty but conversely this could provide further opportunities for acquisition as companies seek to dispose of assets.