Company Research Report: Future plc

Company Overview

• Name: Future plc

• Mission: To connect people to their passions through high-quality content and innovative technology.

• Founding: Founded in 1985 by Chris Anderson.

• Key People:

• Jon Steinberg - Chief Executive Officer

• Eric Harris - Chief Operating Officer

• Kevin Li Ying - Executive Vice President of the B2C Division

• Jason MacLellan - Chief Technology Officer

• Sarah Rees - Senior Vice President of Subscriptions Media & Events

• Lee Griffin - Senior Vice President Go.Compare

• Richard Huntingford - Chair

• Headquarters: London, England

• Number of Employees: Over 3,000 employees

• Revenue: £391.5 million in the first half of 2024

• Specialties: Market-leading media brands, magazines, events, digital platforms.

Products

Technology

• Tom’s Guide

• Description: Provides expert advice to help people leverage technology to improve their lives.

• Key Features: In-depth reviews, tech news, buying guides, and tutorials.

Women's Lifestyle

• Marie Claire

• Description: Connects confident, influential, and successful women.

• Key Features: Fashion, beauty, career advice, and celebrity interviews.

Gaming & Entertainment

• PC Gamer

• Description: Global authority on PC games.

• Key Features: Game reviews, news, eSports coverage, and features.

Recent Developments

• Future Creative Studio Launch (July 4, 2024)

• Description: Launched an in-house branded content studio combining Future’s strategic and creative expertise.

• Key Features: Full-service content creation across print, digital, social, audio, and experiential.

• Future Introduces Elevate (June 1, 2024)

• Description: A premium monetization and optimization service for publishers.

• Key Features: Tools to maximize revenue, grow audiences, and streamline operations.

• Half Year Results 2024 (May 4, 2024)

• Highlights:

• Revenue: £391.5 million (Down 3% year-on-year)

• Adjusted free cash flow: £126.0m

• CFO Appointment (May 5, 2024)

• Description: Sharjeel Suleman appointed as Chief Financial Officer, taking over from Penny Ladkin-Brand.

• Future Research: Igniting the Power of the Passionate Consumer (March 2, 2024)

• Description: Research exploring media consumption and buying behaviors of passionate consumers.

• Key Findings:

• Passionate Intenders consume more content and spend more on their passions.

• Passionate audiences are more influenced by advertising.

• Reorganization into Three Core Divisions (February 5, 2024)

• Description: Creation of B2C unit to focus on editorial, subscriptions, print, and advertising.

• Key People: Kevin Li Ying appointed as Executive Vice President of B2C.

• Ad Effectiveness Measurement Expansion (January 1, 2024)

• Description: Expansion of the Effectiveness Suite to provide comprehensive cross-platform campaign measurement.

• Offering:

• Campaign Effect

• Campaign Effect Lite

• Brand Lift

Other Notable Mentions

• Brands: Future operates over 230 brands reaching 1 in 3 adults online in the US and the UK.

• Technology Stack:

• Vanilla: Single modular web platform.

• Hawk: eCommerce service.

• Hybrid: Advertising system.

• Aperture: Intelligent audience data platform.

• SmartBrief: Email curation and delivery platform.

• Kiosq: Proprietary reusable paywall service.

• Commitment: Future is focused on creating sustainable business value and making a positive societal impact.