BBC sells Eve to Haymarket

by MediaWeek Media Week 11-Jan-05, 16:00

BBC Worldwide has offloaded Eve magazine to Haymarket as part of a review of the corporation’s commercial business.

The surprise move comes just two months after BBC director-general Mark Thompson announced a massive restructuring of the corporation, including hundreds of job cuts and a slimming down of its magazine portfolio.

Glossy title Eve was considered to be outside the remit of the BBC Worldwide’s business, having no tie-in with a strand of the BBC such as a programme or event.

Peter Phippen, managing director of BBC Magazines, said: “Once the decision had been taken to sell, it was important for the future of the magazine and the staff that we completed a sale as quickly as possible.

“It was equally important to find a publisher who shares our belief in the aims of the magazine and who was keen to keep the team together.

Haymarket has been in purchasing mood in the past 12 months, snapping up the Thalacker Group – a publisher of horticultural titles – from Germany and AJB Publishing, an Australian group specialising in the technology market.

Haymarket group managing director Eric Verdon-Roe said: “This is a significant move for Haymarket and we are very excited to have the opportunity to acquire such a successful title with the entire publishing staff on board.

“We aim for eve to be the flagship of a new women's interest group and fully intend to invest in its continued growth to ensure that it remains the very best magazine for the definitive woman.”

Eve had sales of 150,000 copies per issue, according to the most recent sales figures – January to June 2004 – from the Audit Bureau of Circulations.

By Kevin May