Maximum Media's UK business suffers £1.7m loss as debt pile hits £7.3m

Niall McGarry

Sean Pollock Email

February 16 2020 02:30 AM

Joe Media, Irish online publisher Maximum Media's UK arm, has reported a £1.7m (€2m) loss in accounts for 2018.

The UK subsidiary, which hosts Joe.co.uk, had debts of around £7.3m, of which £6.4m was owed to its parent company. Joe Media's 2018 accounts also included a statement that the company had incurred a loss last year.

According to the accounts, Joe Media, which was founded by Niall McGarry, said it was "confident that the measures being taken to improve working capital management and operating performance" would ensure the continued operation of the company for the foreseeable future.

In response to questions from the Sunday Independent, Maximum said Joe Media had "doubled turnover" in 2018 and had grown revenue last year. It said the business was on target for more growth in 2020 and is forecast to deliver a profit.

The 2018 accounts for Joe Media also show it grew its headcount to 49 in 2018, up from 27.

Earlier this year, Maximum announced it had made a €1m loss in 2018 and had laid off nine staff. Maximum's 2017 accounts show it employed 76 people. It has been reported that the company employs around 100 people in its Dublin office.

Last year, it was reported in the Business Post that Maximum was embroiled in a click farm controversy, which showed that it had artificially boosted listening numbers on a sponsored podcast in 2017.

Core, Ireland's largest marketing communications agency, subsequently suspended its campaigns on Maximum's websites, including Joe.ie and Her.ie.

In January, Core and Maximum reached an agreement allowing them to restart their business relationship.