| Type | Public (LSE: FUTR) |
|---|---|
| Industry | Magazine and internet publishing |
| Founded | 1985 |
| Founder(s) | Chris Anderson |
| Headquarters | Bath, United Kingdom |
| Area served | United Kingdom United States |
| Key people | Peter Allen (Chairman) Mark Wood (CEO) |
| Website | http://www.futureplc.com/ |
Future plc (LSE: FUTR) is a media company; in 2006, it was the sixth-largest in the United Kingdom. It publishes more than 150 magazines in fields such as video games, technology, automotive, cycling, films and photography.[1] Future is the official magazine company of all three major games console manufacturers. [2] It is a constituent of the FTSE Fledgling Index.
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The company was founded in Somerton, Somerset in 1985 by Chris Anderson. [3] An early innovation was the inclusion of free software on magazine covers, the first company to do so. [3]
Anderson sold Future to Pearson PLC for £52.7m in 1994, but bought it back in 1998, with Future chief executive Greg Ingham and Apax Venture Partners, for £142m. [3] In December 1999, Future issued Planet PC, a new PC gaming magazine intended to appeal to male eight-to-twelve-year-olds.[4] In 2001 Anderson left Future. [5]
In November 2009, Future reported a fall in profits from £9.5 million to £3.7 million (a loss of 61 percent) in the fiscal year that ended 30 September 2009. Future attributed this to problems with their US market, hit by a fall in the general advertising market. [2]
In March 2010 Future announced that it was exploring the possibility of reviving its GamesMaster brand on television. The video games show had run from 1991 until 1998. [6][7]
Peter Allen and Mark Wood currently serve as chairman and chief executive of Future plc respectively,[8] and its US President is John Marcom Jr.[9]
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