Future buys US digital publisher

FUTURE has tightened its grip on the magazine publishing industry after snapping up a third firm this year.

The FTSE 250 company behind The Week and Country Life has looked across the Atlantic to buy the digital women’s lifestyle publisher Who What Wear.

Future hailed Who What Wear for its ‘strong social presence and diverse revenue streams’ in a deal which will provide ‘greater scale and reach in North America’.

Who What Wear, which has 12m online users and 10m social followers, makes around 90pc of its revenue from the US.

The magazine publisher, whose content reaches one in three adults online in the US, said it will become the sixth largest beauty and fashion publisher in the country following the deal.

Future said this will be financed using its existing debt facilities.

‘We are delighted to welcome the Who What Wear team to Future,’ said chief executive Zillah Byng-Thorne.