Reader’s Digest is to receive an extra £3m cash injection from Better Capital as part of plans to transform the business from a publisher to a direct marketing company.
The firm has already set up a DM division – Direct Marketing Partners – which is designed to take on suppliers and agencies by providing an end-to-end solution for brands to promote their products.
However, the overhaul of Reader’s Digest has not been without its casualties. Last month it named Thierry Bouzac as its third chief executive in the space of a year, following the departure of David Titmuss, who left in May after just six months in the role. Before him the company was run by Chris Spratling who departed in July 2010, just three months after engineering the management buyout.
The publisher has struggled to stabilise its senior management team since the buyout last April – numerous senior executives involved in the original deal have since left – and it is now on the hunt for a new chief operating officer.
Better Capital owner Jon Moulton said the firm is undergoing radical changes and the cash injection will help it realise its ambitions of turning around its fortunes.
He said: “The changes to the business are far-reaching and this doesn’t happen without investment. This is probably the last injection in the short-term but after that, who knows? The business is debt free and everything is being funded by Better Capital.”
The investment takes Better’s total expenditure on the business to around £23m.
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