Emap ends its relationship with 'Elle'

Elle, the stylish women's glossy magazine, is to leave the Emap stable and revert to its French parent, Hachette Filipacchi, after the two media groups decided to abandon a UK-based joint venture.

The move, which ends an 11-year partnership that dominated the women's glossies market with titles such as Red and Top Santé, comes after Hachette catapulted itself into the UK with the acquisition this month of Attic Futura, the publishing group.

Hachette, which is owned by the French media giant Lagardère, is expected to regain control over Elle, Elle Decoration and the quarterly Elle Girl. The company, which cloned the British Elle from its best-selling French counterpart 17 years ago, is likely to hand responsibility for the titles to Attic Futura.

Emap, whose other interests span FHM, Nursing Times and the radio station Kiss FM, would retain New Woman and Top Santé, the two magazines it brought into the joint venture 10 years ago. The UK media group is also expected to keep Red, the "middle youth" title it launched with Hachette five years ago.

Emap said that talks begun with Hachette last month over the joint venture's future were "continuing with the sole focus on its break up".

While the financial impact of the shake-up on Emap will be minimal, analysts said the French group was clearly looking to muscle in on the lucrative women's magazines market in Britain. Hachette's acquisition of Attic Futura follows its hiring of Kevin Hand, the former Emap chief executive, to head its UK business.