LADBible to lay off staff

In brief

LADBible plans to lay off staff following a drop in share price and “tough trading conditions”.

The Manchester-based youth-oriented online publisher has told staff redundancies were “necessary” to place the company in a better position when markets have settled and economic growth returns.

While The Guardian has reported it will amount to 10% of staff, The Media Leader understands that the finally tally of laid off workers is still under consideration as a consultation on redundancies remains ongoing.

A spokesperson for LBG Media plc said: “As we stated at the time of our half-year results, we have seen improving momentum in indirect revenues and direct bookings are also showing good momentum although advertisers are making decisions with shorter lead-times. Notwithstanding this we have made the prudent decision to reduce our cost base whilst ensuring that the business maintains its ability to take market share and grow.”

LADBible was founded by Alexander Solomou in 2012 and was valued at £200m when it went public last December. Its share price has since dropped by nearly 65%.

The media company is still looking to expand to the US market where it opened an office and hired staff before a full launch next year.

*Editor’s note: this article has been updated since publication to include new information.