SuperBike sold again

SuperBike magazine has a new owner. The sportsbike magazine, which has had two changes of owner in the last three years, has been bought by Leamington Spa-based Blaze Publishing, from Hersham-based Loaded Media.
The magazine has had a rocky few years since being offloaded by IPC Media in 2010. It was bought as a package with Loaded, Prediction, and several other titles by City-based Vitality Publishing. Vitality went into administration in 2012, and SuperBike moved to Hersham in Surrey after being bought by the colourful Paul Baxendale-Walker, aka Paul Chaplin.
Baxendale-Walker, a tax adviser and adult entertainment producer, took over SuperBike as part of a deal to buy Loaded magazine. He then launched a satellite TV channel – Loaded TV – which featured a SuperBike TV programme. But the television side of the business was in trouble by spring this year, and Baxendale-Walker pulled the plug, putting both Loaded and SuperBike magazines up for sale.
The new owner promises a slightly less exotic future. Blaze Publishing’s highest-profile title is Diesel Car magazine, and the rest of its portfolio is made up of ultra-niche titles aimed at airgunners, shotgun fans, hunters and archery enthusiasts, as well as guitarists and drummers. It also organises several trade and consumer shows.
John Hogan has edited SuperBike for the last year and a half.