Northern & Shell sets aside funds to buy Gulfstream

by Staff, Brand Republic 27-May-08, 11:00

LONDON - Northern & Shell, publisher of OK! magazine owned by Richard Desmond, has set aside £17m to buy a corporate jet, according to reports.

The company is due to file accounts at Companies House today, and the Financial Times is reporting that £17m is to be spent on a Gulfstream G450, a long-range jet that can carry up to eight passengers and three crew. It is set to be available at some point in 2010.

The FT reports that with the expansion of OK! magazine into the US, the company had become increasingly international. Previously it used the business-class only service Eos, but that airline has now collapsed.

The accounts are also set to show that Richard Desmond, owner of Northern & Shell, was paid only £631,000 in 2007, compared with the £40.7m pay package in 2006, including a £40m pension top up.

Although the company has invested heavily in its US expansion, pre-tax profits have risen from £5.16m to £54.9m, due in part to the performance of the Express and Daily Star, and adult pay television services.