Sport Media Group sells Front magazine

Lads’ mag Front and movie mag Hotdog have been sold by Sport Media Group, publisher of the Daily Sport, to a new startup for £87,500.

Kane, controlled by 24 year old entrepreneur Dominic McVey and managing director of talent agency Money, Francis Ridley, acquired the mags after SMG decided to focus on its core businesses of the Daily and Sunday Sport.

McVey said: “Front is the rarity in its market, it is confident and resonates with its audience, which is why it has enjoyed an increase in popularity whilst its peers have all declined.

“As an independent we believe we can be nimble and opportunistic, empowering the team to build on the success to date and collectively realise the brand’s ambitions both in print and online.”

Front is not currently audited by ABC but according to independent distributors COMAG its latest July edition had a sale figure of 39,658.

SMG also published a trading statement earlier today, revealing that it in recent weeks it has “achieved average daily sales (Monday-Friday) of approaching 85,000 copies, which is 18% higher than the nadir in March, and more than 6% up year-on-year”.

“Advertising revenues are stable, and the digital division, which uses the newspaper for marketing, has also seen a benefit from the increase in circulation,” it added.