Regional publisher sees decline in revenue

Archant Media began publication 165 years ago, as a regional weekly newspaper in Norfolk London – Naeem Arzu Archant Media have announced operating profits of £600,000 in the first half of 2013, despite a fall in revenue of 4.7 percent, following losses of £900,000 in 2012. Richard Jewson, Chairman of Archant, said he was “pleased” with the performance, adding that “\"There is much comment that green shoots of recovery are becoming visible. As yet we see little evidence that this is building confidence among our customers”.
Jewson said, “Performance of our Anglia and Lifestyle businesses was relatively strong with declines of less than 3 percent whilst trading in London, where our magazines face a significant increase in competition, was more challenging”.
Referring to a tax dispute with HM Revenue & Customs, which could see the company fork-out a £13 million tax bill, he Archant is cooperating with the tax office to resolve the issue.  He said they will “engage with correspondence with HMRC which we expect to continue in the coming months\".