Future Publishing - Media With Passion

Future’s depth and reach of content makes us the world’s number one cycling publisher and the portfolio continues to grow with further investment in new launches.

Hobbies and Crafts

We hold number one positions in the key segments in which we publish – cross stitching, papercraft, knitting and genealogy – making Future the clear leader in the UK hobbies and crafts market.

Future’s portfolio offers a compelling proposition for our commercial partners – our readers are highly committed and invest considerable time and money in their hobby. Cross Stitcher readers have been stitching for an average of 13 years and spend over 13 hours a week stitching, while PaperCraft Inspirations readers produce over 15 million cards a year between them.

Future is the only UK publisher to have two knitting titles. Simply Knitting recorded a 17% year-on-year increase in circulation in the last full-year ABCs and we successfully launched The Knitter in 2009. This title exceeded its year-end subscriptions targets in its first three months on sale. PaperCraft Inspirations also recorded a 5% increase in circulation.

Export sales have seen fantastic growth. We now distribute over a million copies of our Hobbies & Craft magazines overseas every year. They reach over 40 countries including Sri Lanka, Lebanon and Chile. Simply Knitting is now the number one crafts and hobbies title in Barnes & Noble in the US.

We have around 70,000 loyal subscribers across the portfolio, and are further strengthening the unique relationship we have with our readers through our popular craft event – Stitch & Craft Show – which increased visitor numbers by 6% in 2009.

We also run the UK’s only craft market research program, reinforcing our industry authority. Craft Intelligence measures participation in crafts throughout the UK and profiles the demographics, attitudes and behaviours of crafters.

Automotive

Future’s automotive portfolio reaches a broad audience of passionate motoring enthusiasts. Through our specialist motoring magazines, websites and interactive automotive events, we excite and educate over 350,000 people whose lives are driven by a love of modified cars, classic cars, individual marques and motorcycles.

Each brand in the automotive portfolio is clearly defined and highly targeted, speaking to the most passionate and engaged audience in each sector – for example Fast Bikes is the magazine for the sports bike fan, Fast Car is for the grassroots tuner and Classic Ford Show is the event for the owners of older Fords.

The ability to exploit cross-platform opportunities where there are shared audiences and advertisers – such as Redline and TRAX or The Performance Vauxhall Show and Total Vauxhall – is also a feature of this portfolio. The Future Auto Events Series goes from strength to strength, with a 9% increase in attendance in 2009 across the series. On the back of this success we will be adding two new events in 2010.

Performance tuning is the portfolio’s major force. We reach more enthusiasts tuners than any other media group, and we are leaveraging this advantage to increase our share of advertising and drive further growth online.