The publisher of vehicle sales title Auto Trader has
announced the magazine will cease to be available in a print format
within the next 12 to 18 months.

A combination of debt restructuring costs and
declining print business meant Trader Media Group, jointly owned by
Apax and the Guardian Media Group, saw its pre-tax profit wither
from £83.5m to £22.3m in the financial year 2011/12, despite
increasing its revenue from £254.4m to £257.2m during the
period.

Circulation of the physical magazine has
slipped to 87,000 copies a week with advertising revenue dropping
with it. However, the online magazine and
associated titles continue to grow in popularity, including an
increase in the number of readers accessing it on mobile phones
from 1.1m in March 2011 to 2.3m in March 2012.

Trader Media Group chief executive John King
said the decision on print would be finalised later this year, with
the last issue being published between July 2013 and January
2014.

richard.brown@vrlfinancialnews.com

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