Lewis Silkin advises Haymarket on its sale of five consumer media brands to Future plc

The five brands are What Hi-Fi?, Stuff, FourFourTwo, Practical Caravan and Practical Motorhome. The deal is due to close in early May following consultation with affected employees.

Haymarket Media Group creates award-winning specialist content and services for international audiences. Its growth plan has become increasingly focused around consumer motoring media and UK & international B2B media, together with customer content delivery services..

Commenting on the transaction, lead partner Simon Entwistle said:

“We are delighted to have worked with Haymarket on this strategically important disposal. Our team’s expert knowledge and experience in the media sector, together with our long-running relationship with Haymarket, enabled the deal to run smoothly and we look forward to supporting Haymarket in its growth and development going forward.”

Brian Freeman, Haymarket’s CFO, said

“As always the Lewis Silkin team did a fantastic job for us, guiding us through a complicated deal under pressure of a tight timetable.”

In addition to Simon Entwistle, the Lewis Silkin team included partner Matthew Rowbotham (tax), barrister Vince Toman and senior associate Rhian Hall (employment), Senior Associate Iain McDonald (commercial/IP) and associate Francesca Cunningham (corporate).