Ashcroft Shuffles Pack: Loss Making PoliticsHome Sold for £0.00
++ Merges With Loss Making Political Publisher Dods’ ePolitix ++
Dods plc, publishers of ePolitix.com and the House Magazine, announced this morning that it had acquired the business and assets of PoliticsHome.com, the political news aggregation website now run by Paul Waugh. The sellers were Political Investments Limited and Politics Home Limited, companies which Ashcroft controls. The price paid was zilch.
PoliticsHome has annual revenues of approximately £100,000 a year and lost £500,000 last year. Rolled up losses on the balance sheet amount to some £700,000. Waugh’s former home, The Evening Standard, reports that the deal could be worth £2 million. In theory true, but in reality that is if, and only if, certain optimistic synergistic revenue goals are met. It should be remembered that loss making Dods plc is itself also 23% owned by Ashcroft. This is basically an all-paper transaction with Ashcroft shuffling loss making assets around. No money is actually changing hands…
ConservativeHome is not in this deal, its losses are subsidised directly by Ashcroft through Political Investments Limited. Over on the left-hand side of the blogosphere the unions now fund LabourList, LeftFootForward and PoliticalScrapbook directly, which is why they read like press releases from the TUC. Keen analysts of the online political sphere will note that there is now only one politics-only website pure play that makes money as a commercial proposition. Profits which make us proudly independent…
UPDATE: A bean-counting co-conspirator points out that from a “tax management” point of view it is pretty savvy. The rolled up losses of the acquisition can be offset to reduce the tax on overall business. Now you know why he is billionaire…
Yep, Because even though this site has a slight right leaning bias, its the best no spin blog about.
Just wait until my blog goes live!
You’ll be sorry then. Without me, this blog won’t last. I am top boy!
“slight right leaning bias”
I lol’d till I cry’d
When the Director General of the British Chambers of Commerce said British youth can’t read or write, he was thinking specifically of you.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/immigration/8610340/British-youth-cant-read-or-write-business-leader-claims-in-immigrants-jobs-row.html
He meant cheap labour. Look at Indians working in a call center, you cannot understand what they say and they cannot understand you but they are hired as they are cheap.
I facepalm’d
How did you get into this country Billy? Did they give you dole as soon as you got in?
Well said – he is a total arsewip
Yappy yippy yipppitty wheeee!
Whilst the constant mocking of Billy can be a bit boring, Billy is particularly pathetic (sometimes 30 plus hopeless posts per article) and I think that the blog would be better if Billy kept his views to himself. The obsession with getting in with the first comment is very odd – is posting on this blog the poor man’s life?
He’s Harry Cole. It’s blindingly obvious.
Even more likely as comment moderator extraordinaire Mr Cole deletes everything I post pointing it out.
Am I wasting my time posting this? Probably.
“Keen analysts of the online political sphere will note that there is now only one politics-only website pure play that makes money as a commercial proposition. Profits which make us proudly independent…”
Mr Fawkes, you wouldn’t be refering to this Blog would you, keep firing in all directions with not too much loyalty to any one party they are in politics and reckon to lead the country, make laws for the benefit of all people in the country, if they step out of line (do what I say, not what I do mentality” , they have placed them selves on a pedestal and have further to fall, keep up the good work.
Lose£500k?
What are they paying £600k a year for?
Perhaps the website was run by the same muppets who manage government IT projects.
Guido,
Why no click-able link through to Left Foot Forward? Are you in a spat with them?
King Guido – he can hold back the tide of losing money online. Does Mr Rudsbridger have your number?
Profits which make us proudly independent…
…from your advertisers?
Right now you have an advert for Waitrose Entertaining and an Amazon widget… I’m sure you’d run a negative story involving Amazon/Waitrose if it came up(!)
Interesting re: Ashcroft’s shifting of funds.
Also, where’s the source for union ownership of LFF and Labour List and Political Scrapbook? Are they all owned by the same unions?
The main reason as you point out Guido is MSM blogs you list are just press releses, also heavil modded.
they are designed to make them look as if they (Left or right) have mainstream support for the views they print, Even if you look at the Guardian and read the comments on there you mainly see “Lines of attack “rep*ted over and over again.
Mainstream parties treat voters like thick as shit, They are behind the curve now because spin and BS is being found out with minutes of a said line/statment, before it would take a few days or it would be buried.
The MSM is becoming less and less trusted as the truth is relived.
“relived” presumably translates as “revealed” ??
Profits which make us proudly independent…
And I’m equally proud and privileged to make comments on this site.
No quantitive easing needed here
Debt is not a problem.
Evil c unt.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/twitter/8610904/Writer-mocks-death-of-gap-year-students-on-Twitter.html
Nothing to do with us. We actually approve of her comments, but we’re not responsible for them.
I told them it was a shit idea.
I hope Kia Abdullard gets her fucking mong face caved in.
You sound just like her parents.
When is the next sentencing due for a MP/Lord ?
Hannig something?
Billy you are beginning to sound like Madame DeFrage, watching your cricket but when a politico is sentenced you shout anotherone
Nigel Farage! I always knew his name sounded familiar.
No the new leader of the IMF
Funny, but almost certainly lost on the tosser
Hard going to think of a comment on this one Guido. Unless you want to publish your P&L account?
I take it that’s your thumbs down G
When you get to due diligence you get to see…
I thought it was “when you get to due diligence you get to sue”
Interesting to see the quality of debate and comment that makes money. Makes the Sun look positively intellectual – but then Murdoch only employs Oxbridge Firsts in the key editorial roles – what’s a key editorial role …..
Ashcroft!
Bless you!
O/T back to yesterday. The life of a UK teacher
!90 days teaching
175 days moaning
Half a million pension pot
Weeee payyy taxes tooo….Says teacher.
Yeah..but we don’t get 14% of our income paid into our pension from those taxes. But you do.
Now write out 100 times
I MUST NOT BE SUCH A SELFISH TOSSER
Those that can, do.
Those that can’t. teach.
Those who can’t teach become union officials
“Gordon Brown forced the FA to bid for 2018 world cup bid”
sauce?
Caught end of report on SSN , They saying a parliamentry report due out soon will say that.
What power did Brown wield over the FA? FIFA rules strictly forbid political interference in the sport – as a few African countries are now discovering to their cost.
Isn’t ‘Old Holborn’ a Politics only web site ?.
Perhaps the difference being he doesn’t make a profit.
Or take advertising ! So it’s a blog is it.
He’s gone a bit loony today though.
“slight right leaning bias”
Billy you’re normally about as funny as a burning orphanage but this was genuinely amusing
well done.
Still more profitable than his bank at the moment.
Congratters on a bloggers blog with blofits!!