Publisher puts What's On In London title up for sale

by Robin Parker, Media Week 08-May-07

Strand Magazines has put listings title What's On In London on the market, just six months after buying the title from Remnant Media.

The company has appointed insolvency specialists Amco Agency to dispose
of the assets and intellectual property of the magazine, which has been
published continuously for 55 years. The company said it was selling the

brand because it did not fit with its core business.

Amco is promoting the potential of a recently established website,
whatsoninlondon.co.uk, which it argues could generate a significant
share of the title's revenues.

The site currently publishes basic listings and reviews of London
leisure activities, including concerts, films, exhibitions and
restaurants.

Following the closure of recent upmarket launch So London, and with
classified advertising increasingly migrating online, a web-only future
for the title looks possible.

Time Out has delayed launches of print editions for Manchester and
Liverpool and is looking at targeting further cities with online
listings guides. Strand recently revamped What's On In London with a new
cover style and the addition of property, shopping and wine
sections.

Launched in 1952 as Where To Go In London, the magazine remained with
the family of founder GD Shaw's company, Where To Go, until 1999, when
ownership switched to a non-executive director of the firm.

Remnant Media owned the title for a year but disposed of it, along with
Front magazine, when it went into administration last year.