£39m write-off for Centaur Media

Centaur Media, the company behind Marketing Week and Econsultancy, has been forced to write off £39.2m from its marketing and financial publishing divisions, despite its interim boss claiming that the group is “growing well”.
The company said the write-down – what is deemed a cash impairment – was due to “weakness in print advertising sales and also the reduction in expectations for overseas operations”.
Earlier this year, Centaur admitted that it had uncovered international losses from the purchase of Econsultancy, as a result of a “deferral of corporate training contracts”. It paid £13m in cash for the business in 2012, which could rise to £50m if the all earn-out targets are hit.
However, the bosses behind the deal – chief exec Geoff Wilmot and managing director of business publishing Tim Potter – have since been ousted, leaving some to question how the purchase will pan out.
Centaur interim chief executive Mark Kerswell described recent trading conditions as the best he had seen in his two years at the company and said digital, subscription and events businesses are growing well after a tough first half of 2013.
Kerswell said Centaur is committed to print, which represents a quarter of sales, and added it was a non-cash write-off. Adjusted pre-tax profits were £8m for the year to June.
The hunt for a permanent replacement for Wilmot continues.