Anthem Publishing

What Anthem Publishing does

Anthem Publishing is a privately-held, UK-based multi-platform magazine publisher founded in September 2002 by three former Future Publishing executives (Jon Bickley, Simon Lewis, Paul Pettengale). The company operates from Bath, UK, with 11-50 employees, and runs a portfolio of 12+ consumer magazine brands organized into three verticals: Food (Vegan Food & Living, Gluten-Free Heaven, Healthy Eating series), Wellbeing (Women's Running, Colouring Heaven, Ultimate Dot2Dot, Italia!), and Music (Classic Pop, Vintage Rock, Kings & Queens of Pop Culture), plus a Bookazines division spanning InFocus, Anthem Tech Guides, and Anthem Screen Stars.

The company generates revenue through a hybrid model combining consumer sales (single-copy newsstand purchases through Marketforce into UK supermarkets and newsagents, recurring subscriptions via shop.anthem.co.uk and brand-specific storefronts), licensed product partnerships (e.g., official Interior Design Masters magazine with BBC/DSP, Pinch of Nom Magazine), advertising and commercial partnerships with B2B clients across web, social, video, e-data, events, affiliate, print, and insert channels, and bookazine one-shot sales. International distribution reaches 9 licensed countries with particularly strong export performance via Italia! and Colouring Heaven Pocket.

Anthem has won the PPA Independent Publishing Company of the Year twice (2014, 2017) and over 35 individual industry awards. The company delivered 29% YoY newsstand revenue growth against a market declining 4%, doubled its bookazine market share to 7.6%, and reaches over 3 million meaningful audience connections monthly. Recent strategic priorities include a leadership transition (joint-founder Simon Lewis retired at the turn of 2024/2025, Sally FitzGerald promoted to Managing Director, Jenny Cook to Chief Creative Officer), expansion into tech/film/TV bookazine verticals, multiple licensed product launches, and a stated mission to grow non-newsstand revenue to 75% of total by 2028.

Name

Anthem Publishing

Legal name

Anthem Publishing Ltd.

Website

https://anthem.co.uk

Company type

Private

Founded year

2002

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Anthem Publishing is a UK-based, privately-held multi-platform magazine publisher operating 12+ consumer brands across food, wellbeing, and music verticals. It generates revenue through newsstand sales, subscriptions, advertising partnerships, bookazines, and licensed products, reaching over 3 million audiences monthly with content distributed in 9 countries.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Bath

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Digital Commerce or Content

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Supply Chain

Revenue model

1. Magazine Sales: Sale of print magazines through retail/newsstand distribution in major UK supermarkets and newsagents, plus digital magazine versions. Revenue from single-copy and impulse purchases.
2. Subscriptions: Recurring subscription revenue from magazine subscriptions through shop.anthem.co.uk, providing predictable recurring income with higher customer lifetime value.
3. Advertising & Partnerships: Commercial partnerships with brands across web, social media, video, e-data, events, affiliate, print and insert channels. They provide integrated activity planning and audience insights for partners.
4. Bookazines: Special bookazine publications including InFocus series, Anthem Tech Guides, and Screen Stars. These are special one-shot publications often tied to current trends or events.
5. Licensing: Licensing deals such as the official Interior Design Masters magazine (produced in association with BBC and DSP). Anthem was also granted licence for official Pinch of Nom magazine.
6. Video Training Courses: Anthem launched a video training course business as part of digital expansion.

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Anthem Publishing is an independent multi-platform media company that publishes a portfolio of consumer magazines and bookazines across food (Vegan Food & Living, Gluten-Free Heaven, Healthy Eating), wellbeing (Women's Running, Colouring Heaven, Ultimate Dot2Dot, Italia!), and music (Classic Pop, Vintage Rock, Kings & Queens of Pop Culture). It distributes content via print newsstand, digital editions, podcasts, brand websites, and live events, and generates supplementary revenue through advertising, brand partnerships, and content licensing.

Product overview

Anthem Publishing is a multi-platform media company operating across print, digital, and live events. The portfolio consists of magazine brands organized into three core categories: Food (Vegan Food & Living, Gluten-Free Heaven, Healthy Eating series), Wellbeing (Women's Running, Colouring Heaven, Ultimate Dot2Dot, Italia!), and Music (Classic Pop, Vintage Rock, Kings & Queens of Pop Culture). A Bookazines division (Anthem Bookazines) encompasses specialty publications including InFocus, Anthem Tech Guides, and Anthem Screen Stars. Recent expansion includes licensed products like Interior Design Masters magazine and partnerships like Pinch of Nom Magazine. Digital extensions include award-winning podcasts such as Women's Running Podcast. The company targets the UK newsstand, exports internationally, and licenses content across 9 countries.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Vegan Food & Living: UK's best-selling vegan magazine launched end of 2015, featuring 70 plant-based recipes per issue plus health and nutrition content. Website veganfoodandliving.com is the go-to resource for vegan news in the UK.
• Gluten-Free Heaven
• Healthy Eating
• Women's Running
• Colouring Heaven
• Ultimate Dot2Dot
• Italia!
• Classic Pop
• Vintage Rock
• Kings & Queens of Pop Culture
• Anthem Bookazines

Products and services

• Vegan Food & Living UK's best-selling vegan magazine featuring 70 plant-based recipes per issue plus health, nutrition, and lifestyle features; accompanied by veganfoodandliving.com.
• Gluten-Free Heaven Digital-first magazine brand serving readers with gluten, dairy, egg, nut and sugar-free dietary needs via freefromheaven.com.
• Healthy Eating magazine series Monthly magazine series covering food and health topics, including AirFryer Cookbook (80+ recipes per issue), Pinch of Nom Magazine, and specialty cookbooks on anti-inflammatory diet, protein, and one-pot cooking.
• Pinch of Nom Magazine Official 116-page magazine published by Anthem in partnership with the Pinch of Nom brand, featuring recipes, community content, advice and essentials sections.
• Women's Running UK's biggest running community for women covering all aspects of running lifestyle from nutrition to gear reviews and training plans; features real runner stories and an award-winning podcast.
• Colouring Heaven UK's only colouring magazine focused on fantasy themes, featuring 40 designs per issue printed on high-quality paper and collaborations with international artists.
• Colouring Heaven Pocket Compact spin-off edition of Colouring Heaven launched in 2023, achieving explosive international growth.
• Ultimate Dot2Dot World's best-selling dot-to-dot magazine featuring realistic scenes with 200-800 dots designed for mindfulness and relaxation.
• Italia! Anthem's longest-standing brand covering Italian travel, property, food and wine with photography-led editorial; Anthem's best-selling export magazine with strong USA readership.
• Classic Pop The ultimate 80s music magazine celebrating pop from New Wave to rave, with access to 80s music stars; the only magazine and website covering the 80s nostalgia genre.
• Vintage Rock World's best-selling rock'n'roll magazine celebrating the golden era of the 50s and 60s through rockabilly revival and current retro artists.
• Kings & Queens of Pop Culture Series celebrating modern popular culture covering artists like BTS, Taylor Swift, Sabrina Carpenter and movie stars such as Pedro Pascal and Timothée Chalamet.
• Anthem Bookazines Special bookazine division creating content across food, music, wellbeing, tech, TV and film — the UK's leading independent bookazine publisher.
• InFocus poster magazine series A3/midi-format bookazine series covering diverse subjects from Oasis to Taylor Swift, Kate's Royal Style to Pokémon; awarded Innovation of the Year 2024.
• Anthem Tech Guides Series of technology bookazines including Ultimate Guide to ChatGPT and Beginner's Guide to AI; the world's first magazine dedicated to ChatGPT.
• Anthem Screen Stars Film and TV bookazine series featuring titles such as The Last Of Us and 28 Years Later.
• Interior Design Masters Magazine Official magazine published in connection with BBC 1's Interior Design Masters, produced in association with DSP; features behind-the-scenes content, interior design advice, and DIY projects.
• Women's Running Podcast Award-winning podcast accompanying Women's Running magazine, with strong community engagement ('podsquad' listeners); five consecutive years of Audio Content of the Year at PPA Independent Publisher Awards (2021–2025).

Quantifiable outcome

• 29% year-on-year revenue growth, outpacing market average of 4% decline
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers5 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Seven partnerships are on record, tiered flagship, core and minor.

• DSP (Discovery Studios Productions)flagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 9 June 2025Anthem was granted licence to publish official Interior Design Masters magazine in close association with DSP, the production company behind the BBC TV show. The magazine extends the TV series with behind-the-scenes features, interior design advice, and DIY projects. DSP Managing Director Donna Clark described it as a perfect companion to the TV series with completely aligned visions.
• MarketforcecoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorAnthem's distribution partner Marketforce has been key to achieving impressive supermarket listings and promotional slots at newsstand. Sales data from Marketforce showed Anthem as UK's fastest growing publisher with 29% YoY revenue growth. Marketforce also supports international expansion, particularly for Colouring Heaven Pocket achieving explosive global growth.
• SportsShoescoreGTM or Marketing PartnerWomen's Running commercial partnership with major retailer SportsShoes combining innovative new content ideas, fresh digital approaches and exciting print opportunities. The partnership was Highly Commended for Commercial Partnership of the Year at PPA Independent Publisher Awards 2024.
• BandLab TechnologiesminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorIn 2018, Anthem sold MusicTech and Guitar Magazine to BandLab Technologies as part of strategic portfolio focus on food and wellbeing sectors.
• Barnes & NoblecoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorBarnes & Noble's magazine buyer Krifka Steffi met with Anthem and sparked the idea for In Focus A3 poster magazine series. The first issues dedicated to Taylor Swift, BTS and Pedro Pascal flew off shelves, leading to ongoing distribution through Barnes & Noble.
• Bath MindcoreOthersAnthem's nominated charity partner reflecting company values around mental health and wellbeing. Over two years of partnership, Anthem donated over £34,000 to fund wellbeing group sessions, counselling sessions and befriending support calls. Currently in second consecutive partnership period with pledged support for further three years.
• World Land TrustminorOthersEnvironmental partner through Carbon Balanced Paper initiative. In 2024, Anthem balanced the equivalent of 514,942kg of CO2 through World Land Trust, protecting 98,354m2 of critically threatened tropical forest.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Future plc: UK-listed specialist media group operating across print and digital magazines/consumer media. Anthem's three founders were ex-Future Publishing executives; companies compete for the same advertisers, content creators and audiences.
• Immediate Media: UK-based independent magazine publisher (BBC Good Food, Radio Times, olive, etc.) operating premium niche consumer brands across print, digital and events — directly comparable in portfolio strategy and advertiser value proposition.
• Kelsey Media: UK independent publisher of niche enthusiast and lifestyle magazines (Classic Bike, Land Rover Monthly, etc.). Closely comparable business model to Anthem: similar headcount, niche vertical magazine portfolio, distributed via UK newsstand and subscription.

Broad incumbents

• Conde Nast Britain: UK presence of Conde Nast (Vogue, GQ, Wired). Premium lifestyle/culture publishing overlap with Anthem's Italia!, Women's Running and bookazine verticals.
• Hearst UK: UK arm of Hearst publishing iconic lifestyle magazines (Cosmopolitan, Good Housekeeping, Country Living). Overlaps with Anthem's food/wellbeing verticals and competes for the same advertiser base.
• Haymarket Media Group: Privately-held UK media group with consumer and B2B titles. Operates competing magazine brands in lifestyle and motoring verticals with broader portfolio scale than Anthem.
• Bauer Media Group: Large European media conglomerate (Bauer, Empire, Grazia, Closer) with overlapping magazine verticals and stronger international scale. Represents the competitive ceiling of UK consumer magazine publishing.

Regional players

• Aceville Publications: UK independent niche publisher (Cake Decoration & Sugarcraft, etc.). Anthem acquired Healthy Diet from Aceville in 2019, evidencing direct competition in the same niche cookery/lifestyle magazine niche and similar scale.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xtwitter.com/AnthemUK

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles8 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A1 record

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Anthem Publishing