Magazine publisher Highbury House has been put up for sale, following the resignation of its chairman Kelvin MacKenzie last month, who departed after defeat by a “mountain of debt.”
The company, which commands control of several high-profile titles including
Front and
Hotdog, is “highly unlikely” to deliver much return for shareholders following the sale of its magazine assets, with the firm today delivering the bad news to investors.
“Shareholders should be aware that, owing to the level of the Company’s indebtedness and other liabilities, following any sale of the trading activities in the Group it is highly unlikely that there will be any value attributable to the equity in the Company,” a statement to the City read.
MacKenzie’s resignation in December followed long-running restructuring talks earlier in the year, and the sale of 38 magazine titles to rival publisher, Future, for a cash consideration of £30.5 million (see Highbury Magazine Sale Approved).
The publisher currently holds around 62 titles, although it is not known which rival companies are preparing bids for its portfolio.
In its latest trading statement Highbury revealed that revenues for the first half of 2005 were down by 28% year on year to £39.6 million, resulting in an operating loss of £2 million (see Highbury Revenues For First Half 2005 Down By 28%).
Total operating losses were shown to be £11 million, compared to £22.9 million last year, with revenues for continuing operations down by 8.2% to £14.5 million, resulting in an operating loss of £0.8 million.
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