Bauer Media to close, merge or sell 10 magazines as result of Covid-19

Bauer Media is to close, merge or sell 10 of its UK magazines because of the impact that the coronavirus pandemic is having on the business.

The publishing house is considering the future of the following brands: Mother & Baby, Golf World, Practical Photography, Sea Angler, Planet Rock, Q, Car Mechanics, Modern Classics, Simply You and Your Horse.

It said that these titles are "not expected to be sustainable" once the Covid-19 crisis is over.

The move means that the 10 brands will either be closed or sold, merged with a sister title or moved to a digital-only format.

Employees who are impacted by the proposals have entered a 30-day consultation period.

At the end of last month, the Advertising Association/Warc Expenditure Report revealed that ad revenue for magazine brands is expected to drop 48% in the second quarter of the year and 25% in 2020 as a whole.

Chris Duncan, chief executive of UK publishing at Bauer, said: "The pandemic and lockdown has further accelerated the trends already affecting the publishing industry.

"Bauer publishes nearly 100 magazines in the UK and some titles that were already challenged, unfortunately, are not expected to be sustainable after the crisis.

"We must protect the long-term health of our business and ability to invest in future growth by reshaping our portfolio."