The UK-based, privately-owned Mark Allen Group (MAG) continues to be Europe’s fastest-growing B2B media company. It made a pandemic-busting 28% increase in EBITDA for the year ending 31 March 2022, following 21% growth in 2020-21 (despite a 20% fall in revenue). The 2021-22 results are believed to include some £2m of revenue from exhibitions, which resumed in the second-half but were about breakeven.
Yr end 31 March | 2022* | 2021 | 2020 | 2019 |
| Revenue | £60.0m | £43.7m | £54.6m | £51.3m |
| EBITDA | £13.1m | £10.2m | £ 8.4m | £ 8.5m |
| Margin | 22% | 23% | 15% | 17% |
| Net debt | — | £7.9m | £13.2m | £3.6m |
The latest figures indicate that MAG has doubled its revenue, trebled its profit and increased its headcount by 65% in the six years since 2016. The performance reflects a successful acquisitions strategy: it has completed more than 25 deals in the last 15 years, at a total cost of some £50m. Most of its deals have had an average payback of 3-4 years. But the £14m acquisition of Farmers Weekly from RELX in January 2020 has been truly transformative.
In 2021-22, the 88-year-old UK agricultural market leader accounted for 20% of MAG revenue, 30% of EBITDA, 10% of its headcount and is now the company’s most profitable brand. But it was always set to be one of the most important acquisitions to owner Mark Allen who had spent 10 years as an editor and publisher at the former Reed Business Information (RBI) in halcyon, pre-internet days when Farmers Weekly was the company’s flagship – and even operated its own farms. Having earlier acquired The Optician and Community Care from RBI, Allen had regularly enquired about the possibility of acquiring Farmers Weekly from the company which was systematically selling-off its print portfolio as it switched to an emphasis on data analytics and consulting.
When the call came from RBI’s trusted longtime broker Peter Singleton in 2019, Allen was ready. Insiders say RBI had been impressed by MAG’s straight dealing in its previous acquisitions. But they (and the Farmers Weekly executives who made the presentations to would-be bidders) were also wowed by the former journalist Allen’s deep knowledge of the magazine of which his father had been a lifelong reader.
They might also have been impressed by his commitment to publish the magazine through a separate company with the four FW executives as directors – and to keep the team in their existing Surrey offices. The upshot was that, after tweaking its offer, MAG won the auction with virtually the same bid as rival independent Metropolis – and even managed to agree a two-stage payment deal for what would be the company’s largest acquisition. As if to underline the harmony of the deal, RELX even offered to extend the payment schedule for MAG once the pandemic hit in March 2020. Just in case.
For Allen, the deal was almost as emotional as when he acquired Community Care (the magazine he had launched for RBI and which is now his company’s second largest profitmaker). Imagine, therefore, how he also started to negotiate moving his headquarters from a converted South London church to RBI’s Surrey building where Farmers Weekly is still located. In the event, the proposed property deal fell through in 2021 and MAG is now looking for other ways to consolidate its multiple office leases and sell-off its converted church for residential development.
Farmers Weekly’s steady performance under MAG’s ownership (despite the pandemic) illuminates the story of the B2B publisher which made £1m of operating profit for the first time only in 2010. Now, Farmers Weekly alone is making £4m of EBITDA – not much more than 3x the cash consideration of two years ago. Its revenue (52% advertising, 32% readership) has proved remarkably steady but the profit is almost 10% ahead of its last years under Reed ownership. While 2-3 jobs have been saved, the acquisition success has not been due to rationalisation and cost-cutting.
It highlights the heart-warming mix of a belief in journalism, print, and the longterm value of established B2B brands that has propelled the Mark Allen Group.
The 38,000-circulation Farmers Weekly still generates more than 65% of its revenue from print, and MAG itself has even managed to launch new magazines in recent years. But the company has also been diversifying successfully into exhibitions (which might account for some £3-4m of revenue next year). Progress has been slower in digital media (29% of revenue in 2021), and international expansion (11%) but the strategy seems clear.
There might not be too many more bargain-priced B2B magazine deals left in the UK (although RELX still has Estates Gazette...). But, as MAG emerges almost unscathed (and debt-free) from the pandemic, we might expect it next to start making acquisitions in Europe and/or the US. Just watch.
Mark Allen Group
