Centaur Kneecaps Mad.co.uk In Cost-Cutting Amid Valuation

B2B publisher Centaur has finally gone public to confirm recent reports it’s cutting back its Mad.co.uk marketing news site. MD Tim Potter said new sites for Design Week and Marketing Week “eradicated the need for a separate reporting team on Mad.co.uk (via PG). Mad.co.uk will now merely aggregate material from Centaur’s related titles include NMA and Marketing Week; two editors will continue at sister titles but it’s thought seven under-threat jobs will mean a total 20 Mad.co.uk losses since June. It’s a cost-cutting measure. Trading at around half its 2007 high, Centaur stock is close to its lowest historical ebb and it was last month reported the company would begin a strategic review that could lead to a sell-off – that’s been denied but Centaur confirmed it’s seeking a “valuation“. Online subscriptions fell from £7.6 million to £7.3 million through 2007 though returns from online ads grew 23 percent to £12.8 million.