A LANDMARK YEAR
Insider Media Ltd, the highly successful and expanding regional business magazine publishers, celebrated five years of growth in 2007 by achieving profit of £1 million for the first time.
The company publishes a series of Insider magazines, each of which is the business market leader in the North West, Yorkshire, the Midlands, Wales and the South West. The company’s core magazines now reach decision makers in 100% of businesses with turnovers in excess of £1 million in their core areas with additional penetration of fast growing smaller companies. Further expansion of the company’s regional coverage is planned.
Alongside the successful regional business magazines, the company hosts the largest, market-leading business events in all five regions where it operates, contributing 26% of total turnover.
Recent research* reveals that business media is one of the fastest growing publishing sectors with turnover increasing between 2004 and 2006 by 18% in real terms after adjustment for inflation. Insider’s turnover grew by 51% over the same period and by a further 26% in 2007†, outstripping the sector performance.
Insider has a long established, well recognised and trusted brand with a strong reputation within each region for the quality and independence of its editorial. Each year, our magazines win numerous awards and 2007 was no exception, being one of the most successful yet. Six awards went to individuals, such as that for BVCA Regional Journalist Of The Year, as well as awards to the magazine, including the Business Magazine Team of the Year at the Northern Journalism Awards.
In the past two years, Insider has steadily moved from free distribution to a mailing list of senior executives to a business model based on annual subscription and requested delivery. Subscriptions increased by 16% in 2007 and this trend, which is expected to continue, is a strong indicator of the importance and value company decision makers place on the Insider publications.
In 2005, the company was purchased by its management from institutional investors. The management team implemented a three-year plan to improve performance of the then three core divisions (North West, Yorkshire and the Midlands) and to expand the reach of Insider magazines and Insider events into major new regions of the UK. Within 12 months, the bank loan used to make the purchase was repaid in full three years ahead of schedule, leaving the company with a strong cash balance and reflecting the highly cash generative nature of the business.
At the end of 2007, the second year of the plan’s implementation, the company achieved its first major milestone, reaching the £1 million profit mark. The result was the fifth successive year of profit growth and reflected an improved performance in each of the company’s original core regions.
The management launched its expansion plan in 2005 by moving into Wales with a new Insider magazine, based in Cardiff. As the second stage of expansion under the five-year plan, a further Insider magazine for the South West was launched in 2007, operating out of new offices in Bristol. Further launches are envisaged.
The launch of Insider Weekly – a news update service provided by e-mail to Insider magazine subscribers – continues to exceed all expectations and by the end of the year the e-mail service reached an active audience of more than 50,000 key business decision makers every week. In response to demand by business leaders a daily online update was launched this year in the North West region.
The company staged a record number of 50 business events in 2007, attended by a total of 12,000 directors and senior managers from the fields of property, finance, banking etc.
The profitability of the events division also reached a record high and has grown by 156% since 2004.
On behalf of the Board, I would like to thank the management team and all our staff for their commitment and hard work which has made possible this record of soundly-based growth. Their professionalism and integrity makes the magazines, the company’s special publications and events valuable to and valued by the business community from Cornwall to the Scottish Borders.
Our secure position in the business market and the quality and support of our staff give the Board confidence that the company will continue to grow.
Chris Oakley, Chairman
*Research commissioned by the Periodical Publishers Association. †After adjusting for inflation (RPIX)