Time Out owner to invest £3m to stay afloat

Time Out publisher Tony Elliott must inject at least £3m into the magazine to ensure it remains a "going concern", reports the London Evening Standard . It cites a statement in the annual accounts of the Time Out Group about the need to seek extra funding because "liabilites exceeded its total assets" by £10.7m on 31 December 2008. Pre-tax losses more than doubled to almost £3.1m in 2008, despite turnover rising 13.6% to £29.2m. Net debt, including loans and overdrafts, was £8.3m. Elliott, who founded Time Out in London in 1968, has committed himself to investing "funds of no less than £3m to reduce bank debt" and lenders have agreed to new financing arrangements. He told the Standard: "We have been through a very difficult period. We saw a drop in advertising of up to 30%." His decision to inject £3m was "a vote of confidence in the business". Source: Evening Standard