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Emap's basket of troubles is result of expanding too far in wrong directions
Roy Greenslade14 Nov 2007
In the words of that wonderful 1960s Walker Brothers hit, the media group Emap is finding that breaking up is so very hard to do.
It certainly isn't making it easy on itself either, because it is keen for a full-scale sell-off while offers, so far, have emerged only for individual portions of the group.
Yesterday's results were hardly a morale-booster, with a 16% fall in profits in the six months to the end of September. Overall revenues were down just a little, though the three divisions - radio, business-to-business magazines and consumer magazines - enjoyed varying fortunes.
Its consumer magazines division, which include such titles as Heat, Grazia, Closer and FHM, suffered a 6% loss, with the weeklies doing rather well and the monthlies plunging further. Advertising prospects do not look promising either. That was offset by better business publishing news, where there has been reasonable growth. As for radio - its stations include Magic, Kiss and Kerrang! plus a variety of well-regarded brands in major cities - there have been increases in revenue, profit and audiences.
But none of this made headlines because Emap is on the blocks and all that anyone is interested in is the group's eventual fate. It looks increasingly unlikely that it will survive as an entity, a victim of a poor strategy poorly executed. It is sobering to recall that it was once considered to be a great media player. Throughout the 1990s, Emap was regarded as one of the pre-eminent magazine publishers. It launched new consumer titles, making a great success of marketing to niche audiences, with magazines for pursuits such as golfing, walking and angling.
Meanwhile, it also expanded into radio, by acquiring Trans World Communications and the Metro Radio Group, and pulled out of newspapers, selling them off to Johnston Press.
It was, sadly, the last link to its foundation as a newspaper group, which had begun back in 1887 when Sir Richard Winfrey, sometime mayor of Peterborough, bought the Spalding Guardian. East Midlands Allied Press, as it was known until 1985, subsequently grew into a group of 65 titles.
Emap had other ambitions though, going for global growth and moving away from its heartland. It did well in France, at least initially. But, by common consent, its £1.1 billion acquisition of the US publisher Petersen in 1998 was a disastrous mistake. Many of its senior staff were amazed to find themselves singing the praises of magazines such as Guns & Ammo and Hot Rod.
The then chief executive, Kevin Hand, thought that he would easily conquer the American market, famously boasting: "If you can do France, you can do anything." That didn't ring true when he said it and, within three years, the initiative blew up in his face. Emap was forced to withdraw from the US.
Exit Mr Hand and enter Tom Moloney, a long-time Emap employee who was charged with trying to rescue a now tarnished mini-conglomerate. He proved unequal to the task, desperately trying to discover different ways of reinvigorating the company without setting out a coherent vision for growth.
Radio stations were bought. Magazines were tried. There was an important move into digital, but Moloney departed abruptly in May this year after pressure from senior board members. It is surely significant that he has never been replaced. Instead, the former non-executive chairman, Alun Cathcart stepped in with executive status. He immediately vowed to keep the group intact and still seems wedded to the idea. But the only genuine interest remains in the profitable business-to-business division, with Reed Elsevier emerging as the latest likely bidder.
Otherwise, various private-equity groups have looked at Emap and most appear to have rejected the notion of buying it. It has been a harsh lesson. Once the company had over-reached itself by moving away from its heartland, from what it knew and what it did best, it has never managed to recover.
