Archant CEO steps down

Jeff Henry, chief executive of Norwich-based publishing company Archant, is stepping down after running the business for the last five years.

Simon Bax, the group’s chairman, will be taking on the role of executive chairman. Bax is the former top executive at Pixar and sits on the board of Channel 4. Almost 100 jobs are at risk as the Norwich-based publisher stops printing its own titles after more than 170 years. The company, which was co-founded in 1845 by mustard magnates the Colman family, has also decided to close its printing operation at Thorpe, outside of Norwich, which employs about 96 people.

The printing of its newspapers is to be outsourced to News UK, the publisher of the Sun and the Times. The combination of cost savings and commercial revenue from the seven-year deal makes the outsourcing move worth millions annually to Archant.

Total revenues have fallen almost 30 percent in the last four years, from £122m in 2014 to £87.2m last year. Digital revenues are thought to be about £15m annually. Sales have decreased by two-thirds since 2000, when its circulation stood at more than 75,000. Circulation has more than halved in the last decade to 25,600.

The owners of Archant have explored a potential sale of the business. Last year, talks were held with Newsquest, the UK’s second-biggest regional newspaper group, but they fizzled out. There is also talk about a takeover.

However, any potential buyer will have to deal with Archant’s pension deficit, which stands at about £30m. Archant sold its loss-making local TV station, Mustard TV, to That’s TV in 2017.