Lad’s mag pioneer James Brown is stepping down as director of I Feel Good Publishing following its recent sale to Dennis Publishing.
The former Loaded and GQ editor has resigned from the company’s board along with fellow directors, Christopher Akers and Rodger Sargent, just weeks after selling I Feel Good Publishing to Felix Dennis-owned Choice Publishing for £5.1 million (see
New Acquisition Makes Dennis Feel Good).
A spokesman for I Feel Good refused to commenting on Brown’s departure, but a statement issued today confirmed that Felix Dennis and his finance director, Ian Leggett, will take over as directors of the company.
Brown, who is widely regarded as the man behind the meteoric growth of lad’s mags in the latter half of the nineties, founded I Feel Good Publishing three years ago.
The company’s first launch, Hotdog, was sold to Paragon Publishing for £415,000 at the beginning of last year after ceasing to become profitable. However, by then the IFG portfolio had been expanded through the acquisition of Viz, Bizarre and Fortean Times from John Brown Publishing for around £6.4 million.
Last April the company unveiled its long awaited men’s lifestyle magazine, Jack, as an antidote to the ailing men’s lifestyle sector, which Brown has criticised for becoming stale and uninspiring. However, the pocket-sized magazine has failed to meet management sales targets and speculation suggests the title is due for a revamp.
His latest decision will come as a surprise to many in the industry, as just last month Felix Dennis announced he was “looking forward to working with James Brown and the hugely talented team that he has built around him.”
Earlier this year I Feel Good revealed that its full-year losses were reduced from £1.2 million in 2001 to just £0.2 million last year, as turnover grew by 90% to £8.0 million (see IFG Cuts Losses As Takeover Approach Is Made).
