The Global Media Weekly for executives and entrepreneurs

Haymarket buys PPP publisher

Haymarket Media, of the UK, has added Rockcliffe Ltd, publisher of Partnerships Bulletin and P3 Bulletin to its Energy and Environment division. The brand focusses on public-private partnership funding.

Partnerships Bulletin was established in 1995 by conference organiser SMi before being acquired in 2005 by its publisher (and majority shareholder of Rockcliffe) Amanda Nicholls. Public Private Finance was acquired in 2009 and expansion into the US vertical followed in 2013. Rockcliffe produces quarterly magazines and has an international database of public-private partnerships. Terms not disclosed but are believed to include a nominal consideration and a longterm executive contract for Ms Nicholls who becomes a Business Director at Haymarket Business Media.

Haymarket is primarily a B2B media company (having divested most of its B2C assets). The privately-owned company had revenue of £142.9m in the year ended June 2020 (2019: £161.6m) with EBITDA of £8.3m (£9.1m). Its activities are primarily in the US and UK and are now just 25% print. The other change in Haymarket’s fortunes over recent years has been the elimination of its once heavy borrowings. It ended last year with £24.8m of net cash, swollen by the £12.5m proceeds from the divestment of Secure Computing (£6.3m revenue/ £1.8m profit) in the US.

Haymarket