Landscape Juice

Haymarket Publishing back into profit but deeper in debt

Haymarket Publishing, owners of Horticulture Week, made a profit in 2010 but increased its net debt from £115.5m on 1 January 2010 to £123.6m at 31 December.

The Guardian reports that the UK, which accounts for 67% of group revenues, only 'grew marginally' in 2010 hinting that recovery in domestic advertising revenues remains sluggish.

Haymarket's borrowing costs rose by a whopping £8m and interest on its overdraft was £10.4m.

Haymarket Publishing is the UK's most indebted media company.

Hort Week readership still in decline

Figures from the independent audit organisation, ABC, show that Haymarket Publishing's Horticulture Week continued to lose paying subscribers in the last twelve months.

Just 1,807 copies were sold at full rate with a further 2,674 discounted by up to 50%. The amount given away for free rose by 5%.

Total average net circulation fell from 7,323 to 6,802 in the period 1st July 2010 to 30th June 2011.

Here's a summary breakdown 2010/11 with 2009/10 in (brackets) and [2008/9]:

• Total average net circulation per issue: 6,802 (7,323) [2008/9 9,451]
• Single copy subscription sales at full rate: 1,807 (2,724) [2008/9 3,454]
• Subscriptions discounted between 50% and 100% of full rate: 2,674 (2,381) [2008/9 2,308]
• Controlled free circulation (non-requested) 2,640 (2,528) [2008/9 2,479]

Horticulture Week is published by Haymarket Business Media.

Hort Weeks' sick joke at Arizona shootings

How far will Hort Week go trying to shock and attract traffic to its ailing brand?

I haven't looked at the site for some time but clicking through just a minute ago I was shocked, disgusted and offended to see Gavin McEwan making capital from the recent shootings in Arizona which saw six people lose their lives.

Whilst there's room for satire in life, there's a time and a place...and that isn't now and it isn't really the place for Hort Week.

Google's new algorithm will be bad for bad businesses

I suspect Hort Week have always had a little laugh when in the past I've linked to their website because, despite the negativity of what I've written, they'd always enjoy the SEO benefits of being linked to.

Take this example where I expose the misleading way they display their subscriber numbers - Hort Week are claiming that they have paid-for circulation of 9,451 when in fact, the last ABC figures show that paid-for subscriptions are only just above the 5,000 mark.

Although my post is a negative review and exposes the inaccuracies in their published subscriber numbers against the actuals audited by ABC, for Hort Week, the post would have had a positive impact for them as the in-bound linked counted in a positive way.

Haymarket Publishing post second consecutive loss

Figures obtained from Companies House reveal that owners of Horticulture Week, Haymarket Publishing, posted a loss in 2009 of £8.09m (2008 £8.29m) as the recession and changes to the advertising market impacted on their business.

Turnover dropped 19.3% from £145m to £117m and employee headcount was reduced by 114 leading to an exceptional restructuring cost of £3.8m - the UK and US operations bore the biggest brunt of the losses.

These latest figures are a clear vindication that traditional print media was heading for trouble and I'm convinced that their is still more pain to come.

Haymarket Publishing start paywall trials

Haymarket Publishing - owners of Hort Week - have initiated trials of subscription paywall in its Asian operation.

The news is no surprise after Rupert Murdoch's News International signalled that it would switch The Sunday Times and The Times to a paid model this month. Both online titles are currently in transition under free-to-view but if you want to read content from the end of the month, you'll have to pay £1 a day or £2 for weekly access.

Publishers revenues have suffered as a perfect storm of the financial recession, and the winds of change blowing through digital media, that has seen one-man-bands out-compete them on both quality and price.

Malvern Meet draws the wroth of garden journalist

Matthew Appelby gets a kicking by fellow journalists et al but Mark Diocono's wrong too.

There's a deep recession; your subscription numbers are on the decline; your staff are finding it difficult to master the change from print to digital: what would you do to expand your brand and reach out to potential consumers?

a) Go on a charm offensive and try to build an online community from your print readership, with a blog facility on your website open to all?

Horticulture Week seeks news reporters

If you know how to rub shoulders with government departments and you have a 'dogged and determined approach to uncovering news' then Haymarket Publishing might have a job for you on Horticulture Week.

Hort Week are advertising for two news reporters to help it beat 'the nationals to big stories' about political importance, climate change and food security to the "liveability" of British cities down to the importance of parks and gardens and the nation’s health.

The vacancies are due to an internal promoting of one news reporter to editor on another of its titles and a desire to expand its news desk.

The best bit; it's part time just 35 hours a week.

Free recruitment advertising on Landscape Juice

Are you currently looking for staff or are you planning a recruitment drive in the near future?

Before you think about signing on the dotted line and parting with a handful of cash, consider sending me the details of the position you plan to fill..it literally cold save you thousands of pounds.

Read Horticulture Week without leaving Landscape Juice

It's clever this technology stuff - If you're a keen reader of Landscape Juice, you will have noticed a green tool bar at the foot of your screen.

This is the Wibiya toolbar and I've installed it on both the Landscape Juice magazine and the Landscape Juice Network.

Wibiya is a cool piece of embedded software that allows a site owner or administrator to add extra functionality to a site to enhance the visitors experience and probably more importantly, without cluttering up important sidebar space above the fold.