Ireland Afloat buys Glasgow-based Yachting Life

The Irish online yachting news outlet, Afloat.ie, has recently acquired Scottish boating magazine Yachting Life, the future of which was in doubt following the takeover of the company by a large international publishing group headquartered in Germany.

KAV Publicity (Glasgow) Ltd, which published Transport News, a road freight magazine, as well as Yachting Life, was acquired by the DVV Media Group in recent months. This transaction raised concerns about the future of Yachting Life, which has been published six times a year and specifically covered the Scottish marine recreational market.

The concern for the future of Yachting Life was based around DVV’s focus on titles related to transport, freight and logistics across shipping, aviation, road and rail. DVV has no involvement with the marine leisure market.

In the September/October issue of Yachting Life, its last issue in print, editor Alistair Vallance commented: “The tangible assets of the East Kilbride-based publishers of Yachting Life have been acquired by an international publisher of transport magazines, the consequences of which is that there is now no production capacity to create the north’s sailing publication, even on a bi-monthly basis.”

Vallance told IBI today: “Following the DVV takeover things have moved very quickly and Yachting Life has been purchased by the Irish online news service Afloat.ie who plan to transform it into an online presentation.”

David O’Brien, the owner of Afloat.ie, which is Ireland’s online sailing, yachting and maritime magazine, confirmed the purchase. “We hope to relaunch Yachting Life as an online product by the end of this year or early next. Like Afloat.ie as a daily news service, Yachting Life will follow the same pattern as a free online production.”