Channel 5 boosts Northern & Shell

Northern & Shell, Richard Desmond’s publishing and television company, has tripled its pre-tax profits as a result of the restructure of its British commercial broadcaster Channel 5.

The company has tripled pre-tax profits £30.3 million (€34 million), compared to £8.9 million the previous year. It has also increased its revenues by £103 million to £525 million.


The company acquired Channel 5 from RTL last year for £99 million and immediately instituted a restructure that saw a number of its senior executives leave. The broadcaster, which reportedly accounted for half of the company’s overall profit growth, also recorded a boost in advertising revenues over the last six months.


Robert Sanderson, finance director, said: “The significant step changes we have made to the business in the last year leave us well placed to further improve our financial performance and to build on our broader media interests”.