August Equity realises investment in Imagine in buy back

At the time of realisation Imagine was one of the UK’s fastest growing consumer specialist publishers.  Imagine publishes consumer magazine titles in the videogames, computing, digital photography and leisure sectors and was launched in 2005 by three former directors of Paragon Publishing. The Imagine management team was led by Damian Butt.

Added Value

In 2006, August Equity helped the group acquire a portfolio of magazine titles from Highbury Entertainment Limited (“Highbury”) which included key titles such as Play, X360, gamesTM, Advanced Photoshop, iCreate and Digital Photographer.

Since the initial acquisition of the Highbury titles, Imagine acquired a number of magazines, launched a host of their own titles and produced a bookazine range which significantly contributed to the growth of the business. In addition, Imagine significantly increased its export sales and concentrated on growing its subscriptions revenues.  August Equity introduced an experienced chairman, Alistair Ramsay, to the board.

Realisation

The realisation of Imagine was completed in 2010 via a refinancing and buy back which generated a 2 times money multiple return for August Equity managed funds.

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