There are no exact figures available for the sale of New Crane, but it will mean a multimillion-pound windfall for Smith and her husband. Seven said that total amount it spent on the acquisitions of New Crane and, in September, Cottage Publishing could be up to £13.6m including possible future performance-related bonuses.
The acquisition of New Crane adds 70 to Seven's staff numbers, creating a total of 124. The newly expanded Seven will switch offices and will be based at the New Crane site on the South Bank in London.
New Crane was founded by Smith, doyenne of British cookery, along with her husband in 1993, and its clients include BBC Books, WH Smith, Norwich City Football Club, of which Smith is a director and shareholder, and Unilever.
Seven is a relative newcomer on the contract publishing block. It was founded in 2003 and publishes magazines including the food title Delicious and Gardenlife. Its executive chairman Michael Potter was the founder of Redwood Publishing and its managing director Seamus Geoghegan was formerly director of lifestyle at BBC Worldwide. The Guardian Media Group owns a 35.5% share in the company.
According to Smith: "Michael and I have had 12 happy years heading up a very happy company. Now, as they say in football, it's time for 'fresh legs'.
"We are very excited that these have come in the shape of Seven Publishing: not only are they long-standing friends and colleagues but also, in our opinion, the best collective talent in publishing today, and I very much look forward to working with them."
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