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The Spectator increased annual revenue last year but operating profit fell, in results that will be used by bidders as the basis for offers in an auction due next month.
The title is poised to be disposed of by Lloyds Banking Group, which in June seized control of the right-of-centre magazine and its sister newspaper the Daily Telegraph from the Barclay family.
On Thursday the Spectator said revenues in 2022 rose to £20.8mn, from £20.3mn in 2021, although operating profit fell to £2.6mn, from £2.9mn, due to costs from investment in its journalism and international expansion.
Founded in 1828, the Spectator describes itself as “the oldest continuously published weekly in the English language”.
Fraser Nelson, editor of the magazine, said in a blog post that “we’re going into this sales process in a strong position”.
Analysts are predicting the sale by Lloyds of Telegraph Media Group, which includes the daily and Sunday newspaper as well as the Spectator, could fetch between £500mn and £700mn.
But the Telegraph and the Spectator are expected to be disposed of in separate auctions, and analysts are anticipating a relatively high price for the magazine given its political influence.
The price is also likely to be boosted given expectations that the Spectator will be fought over by rival media tycoons in the auction.
News UK has registered an interest, with Rupert Murdoch seen by those close to the process as keen to acquire the magazine for his stable of news brands.
Billionaire hedge fund manager Paul Marshall is expected to pursue the magazine alongside the Telegraph. His bid is set to be supported by Ken Griffin, founder of the Citadel hedge fund.
One person close to the auction process said senior staff at the magazine had discussed a management buyout, although they would be unlikely to be able to match the sorts of prices set to be offered for a “trophy” asset by billionaire buyers.
The Barclay family has been trying to regain control of Telegraph Media Group by making offers ahead of the auction.
At the end of last year, the Spectator business recorded 122,500 paid subscriptions, of which 93,000 were in the UK.
Monthly page views averaged 8.2mn in 2022, up 2.5 per cent year-on-year. The business owns titles including the Spectator and the Spectator Australia.
Potential buyers of the magazine are expected to seek to increase its readership in the US. Nelson said the business had been investing in US expansion.
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