Bonhill shares tumble 30% as it reveals potential sale

Financial publisher and events group Bonhill is considering putting itself up for sale after warning it will slump to a loss this year as clients increasingly cut back on marketing spend.

Bonhill, which produces magazines, data analytics, and organises events for the financial sector, said it has decided to launch a strategic review which may result in the sale of the group, or parts of it.

It announced the potential formal sales process alongside a profit warning and a new loan facility worth £800,000.

The London-based group now forecasts full-year revenues to be £15million, compared to previous guidance of £15.5million, and losses of £350,000, instead of £300,000 profit.

In June, the group blamed ‘market turbulence’ for a weakening in traditional media and content projects, as clients ‘held off on discretionary marketing spend’.

Today, it said trading conditions have continued to deteriorate, resulting in weaker-than-expected digital revenues, particularly in the US.

‘The board believes that the expected strong events performance and robustness in the rest of the group’s business, as outlined in the interim results, will not now be enough to offset the weak trading in the US,’ it explained.

London-listed Bonhill shares tumbled 29 per cent to 4.08p in morning trading on Monday. They have lost around 64 per cent of their value over the past year. 

The media company said it has not yet received any takeover approach, nor it is in talks with any potential buyer and will update the market ‘in due course’ regarding timings for the sale process. 

As a ‘precautionary measure’, Bonhill has also entered into a ‘standby’ loan facility worth £800,000 that runs until May next year. 

It said it doesn’t expect to have to draw upon the facility ‘until February at the earliest’.