Boss of Mirror publisher quits to join Jockey Club

Monday 31 March 2025 1:47 pm

The boss of reports writer Attain has left with speedy impact for a brand new function on the Jockey Membership, the UK’s largest industrial horseracing organisation.

Jim Mullen, who has been chief govt on the proprietor of the Every day Mirror, Every day Categorical and Every day Star since 2019, is leaving by “mutual settlement”, the agency’s board mentioned in a press release, and can step down from his function as chief govt right away.

Mullen shall be succeeded by Piers North, the information group’s present chief income officer, who earlier than that held roles in digital publishing at each Attain and Yahoo.

The board confirmed that Mullen will obtain his full bonus, wage and pension contributions till 1 June, when he begins on the Jockey Membership. Earlier than then he’ll “stay obtainable for a brief handover interval”, the group mentioned.

Nick Prettejohn, chairman of Attain plc, mentioned that the board and Mullen “agree that that is an applicable time… for him to step down and for the corporate to take new management”.

Mullen oversaw a tumultuous interval of buying and selling for Attain, which can also be the UK’s largest writer of native information, because it battles to regulate to declines in promoting revenues and dwindling help from social media corporations like Fb-owner Meta.

In 2023, it introduced plans to axe 450 editorial jobs from its regional and nationwide retailers, which was shortly adopted by the resignation of the Every day Mirror’s first ever feminine editor, Alison Phillips.

Shares within the FTSE-250-constituent Attain are down 18 per cent previously 5 years and, yr thus far, are down 14 per cent. Nevertheless it outperformed analyst expectations when it revealed its full-year outcomes final month, beating most revenue forecasts and posting jumps in earnings per share and income.

Mullen, who earlier than becoming a member of the writer was the boss of Entain-subsidiary Ladbrokes Coral, mentioned: “I wish to thank everybody at Attain for his or her laborious work over these previous practically six years. Collectively we’ve got put the enterprise in a stronger place, resolving necessary historic points and making actual progress on our digital progress.”

North takes the helm having joined Attain over a decade in the past. He has held a number of senior digital roles and started his profession as a digital journalist.

“It’s an enormous honour to steer Attain as we proceed to serve important journalism to our audiences and to maneuver ahead with our digital evolution,” he mentioned.