Hothouse acquires Octane and Historic Motoring Awards
THE PHRASE ‘meet the new boss, same as the old boss’ now literally applies to Octane. Just before Christmas, Octane, the Historic Motoring Awards and other brand extensions such as the Classic Car Price Guide were acquired in full by Hothouse Media, the company run by Geoff Love and David Lillywhite, two of the founders of Octane. The take-over reunites the original Octane ‘gang of four’, which comprised Geoff, David, Octane founding editor Robert Coucher and current group advertising director Sanjay Seetanah.
The move also brings Octane and its associated brands and products under the same roof as multiple award-winning quarterly magazine Magneto, the Concours on Savile Row, The Concours Year Book plus a contract publishing division in charge of a range of other titles. Hothouse Media can now claim to have the most respected and authoritative portfolio of classic car-related magazines and events.
Geoff, David, Robert and Sanjay were already highly experienced in the classic car market when they launched Octane in 2003 and 249 issues later it remains a highly influential publication, with editions in The Netherlands, France, Germany and Japan and a circulation in excess of 30,000 copies per issue.
In 2007, Octane was sold to Dennis Publishing and continued to grow under the same team – including the launch of the International Historic Motoring Awards – until the departure of Geoff and David in 2016-17 to pursue other opportunities, namely Hothouse Media. Dennis was subsequently taken over by financiers Exponent and morphed into Autovia, Octane’s previous owner.
Commenting on the acquisition of Octane and the Historic Motoring Awards, Hothouse Media managing director Geoff Love said: ‘Octane is a fantastic brand that has been delighting audiences for over 20 years. As we take stewardship of the publication once again, we’re looking forward to working with the Octane team to ensure that the magazine has the investment and support it needs to thrive in the coming years.’
EditorialdirectorDavidLillywhiteadded:‘We’re excited. Octane and the Historic Motoring Awards have always been close to our hearts and Geoff and I return refreshed and with the resources to take them to the next level.
‘You’ll start to see differences in Octane from issue 250: much-improved paper, faster and more efficient delivery in the US in particular, and the continued evolution of the content.
‘Many of you have asked if Octane will be merged with our existing quarterly magazine, Magneto. No, absolutely n
