A Go for JOE: JOE Media bought out of administration

Having entered administration in May, it’s been confirmed that JOE Media will now be run by former UNILAD execs who say they have “many unused plans” they can now transfer to the brand.

Venture capital firm Greencastle Capital are the victors in the auction process, having fended off over a dozen other bids for JOE’s assets.

Iconic Labs, which is run by three former UNILAD execs - Liam Harrington, John Quinlan and Samuel Regan-Asante - has signed a deal with Greencastle Capital to manage all parts of the JOE business for a monthly management fee of £50,000 plus external costs. It will also receive 25% of profits if certain revenue and profit targets are met.

Iconic said it expects the contract to contribute “a significant amount of revenue” which will enable it to become “operationally profitable within three months”.

“We are delighted to have been involved in Greencastle Capital's successful bid for JOE media, which involved a very competitive sales process among more than 15 different bidders”, Iconic Labs chief executive John Quinlan said in a statement.

“The acquisition of the JOE media UK businesses by Greencastle Capital is by far the biggest deal we have been involved with as a company so far… With JOE media's credibility in specific areas like politics and sport, Iconic Labs now has access to some best in class assets through the management services contract”, he added.

Harrington, who is chief business officer, said Iconic Labs would “transfer the skills used to build one of the world’s largest digital publishers in UNILAD and use them to grow and develop in JOE Media what is already a prestigious brand with an offering that is unique and unrivalled in quality within the market”.

“We have many unused plans that can now be rolled out to help JOE Media further develop further as the market leader within the digital space in the UK and Ireland. We also intend to look at joint ventures or other opportunities with existing broadcast media,” Harrington added.

One key focus for Iconic will be on diversifying JOE Media’s revenue streams, with the possibilities of live events and a subscription model for the House of Rugby brand to be considered.

Greencastle Capital is also expecting to complete its acquisition of JOE Media in Ireland, currently a separate entity from the UK brand, within the next two months. The eventual plan is to combine the businesses into a single structure to reduce costs so that JOE can return to profitability by next year.

Founded in Ireland in 2010, JOE Media had been profitable but made losses overall after expanding into the UK in 2015. Since then, however, Iconic Labs said the UK part of the JOE Media business had grown revenue at an annual rate of 117.7% between 2016 and 2019, and that altogether the businesses made £10m in revenue last year.

JOE Media’s situation worsened this year with the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic as advertising spend plummeted and all professional sport, upon which several JOE brands are based, stopped overnight.

In terms of video views, figures suggest Joe.co.uk is currently the fourth biggest video publisher of 2020 on Facebook, behind only the Daily Mail, BBC News and The Independent.