Dennis Publishing

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Dennis Publishing Ltd
TypeLimited company
IndustryMagazine and internet publishing
FoundedFelix Dennis, 1973; 48 years ago (1973)
HeadquartersLondon, England, UK
OwnerExponent
Number of employees
370
Websitewww.dennis.co.uk

Dennis Publishing Ltd. is a British independent publisher, founded in 1973 by Felix Dennis. Its first publication was a kung-fu magazine. In the 1980s, it became a leading publisher of computer enthusiast magazines in the United Kingdom. In the 1990s, it expanded to the American market, where it published the lifestyle magazines Maxim, the consumer electronics magazine Stuff, and the music magazine Blender. In 2007, the company sold all its American holdings, with the exception of the U.S. edition of The Week. Felix Dennis died in 2014, leaving ownership of the company to the charity organization Heart of England Forest. In 2018, the company was sold to Exponent, a British private equity firm.

History[]

Foundation and early development[]

Felix Dennis started in the magazine business in the late 1960s as one of the editors of the counterculture magazine OZ.[1] In the mid-1970s, Dennis Publishing was born, beginning with a kung-fu magazine, Kung Fu Monthly.[2]

Dennis followed this up in the early 1980s by publishing titles in the emerging computer enthusiast sector, including Your Spectrum (later renamed Your Sinclair and sold to Future Publishing). Dennis has since maintained a foothold in the computer magazine business – until Maxim's success in the United States in the late 1990s, computer magazines were the mainstay of Dennis' magazine holdings, second only to Future Publishing in the UK.

In 1987 the publisher was renamed from Sportscene Specialist Press to Dennis Publishing.

Dennis Publishing, Inc. published one of the most successful modern men's lifestyle magazines in America – Maxim (2.5 million rate base)[1] – along with Stuff (1.3 million rate base) and general interest music magazine Blender (800,000 rate base).[3] Maxim, Stuff and Blender are registered trademarks of Felix Dennis.

2000–present[]

On 5 February 2005, Maxim Radio was launched on Sirius Satellite Radio. On 12 November 2008, Sirius and XM merged, and five days later Sirius XM Stars Too debuted on Sirius Satellite Radio on Sirius 108 and XM 139. In May 2011, Stars Too moved to channel 104 on both services.[4]

On 15 February 2007, Dennis Publishing, Inc. announced that it had retained media investment firm Allen & Company as its exclusive financial advisor to explore various strategic alternatives available to the company including a possible sale of the company.[5][6] In June 2007, all of Dennis's United States holdings – minus the U.S. edition of The Week – were sold to the private equity firm Quadrangle Group. This included the editions of Maxim, Stuff and Blender.[7]

In January 2008, Dennis Publishing acquired the online news site The First Post for an undisclosed sum.[8] In February, Dennis Publishing announced the launch of iGizmo, a free fortnightly interactive digital magazine dedicated to gadgets and consumer technology, launching on 11 March. In November, Dennis Publishing acquired the online games and hardware enthusiast website Bit-Tech for an undisclosed sum.[9]

For 2012, Dennis Publishing, producing more than 50 magazines, increased its group pre-tax profits by 35% year-on-year from £4.1m to £5.5m. Group operating profit climbed almost 12% to £4.9m. Group turnover, excluding share of joint venture revenues, rose slightly year on year to just over £70m. Revenues including joint ventures climbed 3% to £77.7m. Operations in the UK accounted for almost 84% of total revenues.[10]

After Felix Dennis' death in 2014, Dennis Publishing was owned by the Heart of England Forest Charity,[11] a charity set up by Dennis to replant trees.[12]

In 2017, based on DoG Tech's rapid growth in the United States and worldwide, Dennis Publishing entered into a joint venture agreement with DoG Tech, LLC.[13]

In July 2017, Dennis Publishing acquired MoneyWeek, UK's best-selling financial magazine.[14]

In July 2018, Dennis Publishing was bought by Exponent, a British private equity firm.[2] The proceeds from the sale went to the Heart of England Forest charity and the speculated figure for the acquisition was £150 million.[2]

In October 2018, Dennis Publishing launched Driving Electric, a website focused on hybrid and electric car reviews, news, features and videos aimed at UK consumers.

In February 2019, Dennis Publishing acquired Kiplinger, an American publisher of personal finance and business publications such as the personal finance magazine Kiplinger's Personal Finance and the weekly business and economic forecasting newsletter The Kiplinger Letter.[15] The company also owns the website Kiplinger.com. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

In February 2020, Dennis Publishing announced plans to launch a United States version of The Week Junior, a weekly subscription print magazine aimed at kids 8 to 14, launched in the UK in 2015.[16]

Dennis Digital[]

Dennis Digital, formerly known as MaximNet, which launched in 1999, is the interactive Internet and mobile division of Dennis Publishing, which publishes Maxim, Stuff, The Week and did publish (now defunct) Blender.

Publications[]

Company details[]

  • Chief Executive: James Tye[10]
  • Group Chief Financial Officer: Brett Reynolds[19]
  • Registered Company Number: 1138891 (England)
  • Head Office: 31-32 Alfred Place, London, WC1E 7DP

References[]

  1. ^ Jump up to: a b "Oz publisher Felix Dennis dies". BBC News. 23 June 2014. Retrieved 1 August 2018.
  2. ^ Jump up to: a b c "Dennis Publishing Sold to Private Equity - Folio". Folio. 31 July 2018. Retrieved 1 August 2018.
  3. ^ Learmonth, Michael. "Maxim, Stuff, Blender Up For Sale". Forbes. Retrieved 1 August 2018.
  4. ^ "SIRIUS Satellite Radio to Blend Sports, Entertainment and Music for Unparalleled Super Bowl Week Experience". Sirius XM Radio. 31 January 2008. Archived from the original on 19 October 2013. Retrieved 19 October 2013.
  5. ^ "US and international properties of Dennis up for sale". FIPP. 20 February 2007. Archived from the original on 19 October 2013. Retrieved 19 October 2013.
  6. ^ Nat Ives (31 May 2007). "Has Kent Brownridge Finally Nabbed Dennis?". AdAge.com.
  7. ^ Rafat Ali (15 June 2007). "Dennis Publishing Sold To Quadrangle Group; Will Hold Onto Week and Maxim UK". PaidContent.
  8. ^ Doug Caverly (10 January 2008). "Dennis Publishing Buys The First Post". WebProNews - Business. Archived from the original on 2 December 2008. Retrieved 24 November 2008.
  9. ^ Tim Smalley (20 October 2008). "Dennis Publishing acquires bit-tech.net". Bit-Tech.
  10. ^ Jump up to: a b c d e f g Mark Sweney (14 October 2013). "Men's Fitness publisher increases profits by 35% in 2012". The Guardian.
  11. ^ "The Dennis Group". Dennis Publishing. Archived from the original on 10 January 2015. Retrieved 11 April 2016.
  12. ^ "The Charity". The Heart of England Forest Charity. Archived from the original on 30 March 2012. Retrieved 11 April 2016.
  13. ^ "Den of Geek founder crowdfunds movie mag to prove print doesn't need to 'cost the Earth'". The Drum.
  14. ^ "Dennis Acquires UK's Leading Finance Brand MoneyWeek - Dennis Publishing". dennis.co.uk. Retrieved 19 March 2018.
  15. ^ "Dennis Publishing Buys Kiplinger". Folio. 28 February 2019. Retrieved 5 September 2019.
  16. ^ "Media Maneuvers: Google Talks With Publishers About Paying for Content". O'Dwyers PR. Retrieved 13 March 2020.
  17. ^ Jump up to: a b c d e O'Hagan, Sean (2 June 2013). "The nine lives of Felix Dennis: "I've lived an unbelievable life, even if I did do my best to kill myself"". The Observer.
  18. ^ "Game Zone". Game Zone. No. 11 (September 1992). Dennis Publishing. 19 August 1992.
  19. ^ "Board of Directors". The Dennis Group. Archived from the original on 19 October 2013. Retrieved 19 October 2013.

External links[]

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