Square Up Media, publisher of Square Mile, Foodism and Escapism magazines, has reached an agreement with Forward Dimension Capital (FDC) to acquire Factory Media, excluding its German assets.
Farringdon-based Factory Media runs 24 brands across sports and lifestyle, including Mpora, Road Cycling UK, and Dirt and claims it has 6.8m monthly unique users across its portfolio of digital sites, with a ‘social reach’ of 369m.
“We were one of the pioneers of the freemium print model when we launched Square Mile back in 2005, and since then Square Up Media has become renowned for its print products – as well as its websites and events,” said Tim Slee, CEO of Square Up Media.
“However, with our latest acquisitions, we have developed into one of the most exciting companies in the UK’s media landscape. We now have a broad and robust portfolio across print, digital and events, while remaining true to Square Up Media’s spirit – creating exciting lifestyle products that inspire our readers, as well as us.”
Luxury lifestyle magazine Square Mile is distributed for free in the City of London. According to the latest ABC figures, it reaches around 60,000 people. Meanwhile, Foodism launched as a print magazine in 2014, and now has a circulation of 110,000. Its eight issues per year are distributed at Zones 1 and 2 Tube stations, as well as major cities outside London.
A spokesperson for FDC added: “Having overseen the successful growth in Factory Media’s digital offering, we are delighted to have sold the business to Square Up Media.
“We have great confidence that Tim and his team will continue to enhance Factory Media’s proposition, particularly in the sports and lifestyle segments.”
The value of the deal was undisclosed.
