Shares in magazine and website publisher Future PLC (LSE:FUTR) climbed 4.4% to 530p after it strengthened its offering to Gen Z audiences with the acquisition of SheerLuxe Ltd and BLUSH Talent MGMT Ltd for an initial £40 million.
The total consideration could rise to £80 million depending on future performance.
SheerLuxe, a digital 'people-led' fashion and lifestyle publisher, recorded revenue of £12.6 million and EBITDA of £5.1 million in the 12 months to September 2025, with an EBITDA margin of around 40%.
People-led means it focuses on influencers, with an audience of over six million, including 2.4 million social followers, 0.9 million email subscribers and 0.4 million YouTube and podcast subscribers, with organic growth of 32% annually in the past three years.
BLUSH was spun out of SheerLuxe and represents both internal team talent and external "creators, tastemakers and opinion leaders", including founder Georgie Coleridge Cole.
The acquisition will be funded through existing facilities and aligns with Future’s strategy to diversify its audience and strengthen its monetisation of direct content channels.
Future said the addition of SheerLuxe enhances its portfolio with complementary capabilities across social media, newsletters, and podcasts. The group plans to leverage its UK commercial network and launch SheerLuxe in the US.
Future CEO Kevin Li Ying said: "We have long admired SheerLuxe for the status and brand credibility it has established in fashion, beauty and lifestyle.
"With a rare combination of strong growth characteristics and a loyal, high-value audience, SheerLuxe will be highly complementary to our portfolio and will benefit from our scale and commercial capabilities."
Coleridge Cole said becoming part of the FTSE 100 group "represents a huge milestone for SheerLuxe" and that "Future is a natural home for us, and we are excited about what we can achieve working with Kevin and the wider team".