According to The Guardian, Metal Hammer magazine and stablemates Classic Rock and Prog have been given a new lease of life after being saved from closure by Future Publishing, owner of titles including Guitarist, Total Film and T3. The titles, along with the Golden Gods Awards and the Classic Rock Awards, suspended publication and faced closure after owner TeamRock, which fashioned itself as the self-styled “home of rock and metal”, went into administration (the UK's equivalent of bankruptcy/liquidation) in December 2016.

The news, which put more than 70 staff out of work with no severance pay just days before Christmas, prompted British band Orange Goblin to launch a fundraising drive on Just Giving that made more than £70,000 for staff. The band also held a fundraising gig at the Black Heart in Camden, London, on January 5th. 

Now, Future Publishing, the publicly listed digital, events and magazine company, has struck a bargain basement deal to buy the magazines, events and licence for the Team Rock digital radio service for £800,000.

Read more here.

It was previously reported that appointed administrators from FRP Advisory said the business had traded at a loss “for a significant period of time, with consequent constraints on the cash position”.

The administrators added: “Cost-cutting measures were implemented and despite the best efforts of the directors to seek additional investment or a purchaser for the business, no deal could be completed, leaving the company with no viable option other than to enter administration and to immediately cease trading.

Most recent accounts filed by Team Rock Ltd covering the 2015 year to March 31 show the business booked a pre-tax loss of £8.8 million, having booked a pre-tax loss of £4.3 million the prior year.

Read more at the Daily Record.