Following Augustus Media’s profitability, Lovin is set to grow horizontally and launch across several new local news and entertainment territories around the region.
Digital media company Augustus Media has raised $400,000 in debt financing through Dubai-based Beehive P2P Limited (Beehive). With its core millennium focused media platforms Lovin and Smashi, Augustus Media has taken this opportunity to invest in its team, product and services to continue expanding and driving profitable growth.
Lovin is an online local news and lifestyle platform that presents a positive view of its city, town, country or community, whereas, Smashi is a business, tech and culture streaming platform.
This year, the company marks its sixth year of business in the modern media industry with intentions for further expansion and business development. Augustus Media has been profitable for the past five years on operating margins of 20% plus. Additionally, the company forecasts a revenue of $3.5m for 2021.
Following Augustus Media’s profitability, Lovin is set to grow horizontally and launch across several new local news and entertainment territories around the region. Within the UAE, Lovin has expanded as Lovin Sharjah, Lovin Abu Dhabi and Lovin RAK. In KSA, Lovin is set to launch as Lovin Riyadh, Lovin Jeddah, Lovin Neom and Lovin Sharqiyah (Eastern Province).
Augustus Media has also launched Lovin in Pakistan with Lovin Isloo. For the latest city, Lovin Isloo will cater to the population of Pakistan’s capital, Islamabad. Additionally, in the near future, it is set to launch as Lovin Lahore and Lovin Karachi.
Smashi is also expanding vertically with new shows across gaming, crypto, sports and more. Additionally, the team is working on building custom studios in Dubai for the enhancement of production quality and content for its diverse audience.
Across Lovin Dubai, Lovin Saudi and Smashi apps, websites, social and audio platforms, Augustus Media have 6m social media followers, with 1m monthly readers and they reach every social media user in the UAE at least once per week.
Commenting on the development, Richard Fitzgerald, CEO of Augustus Media, said: “Financial discipline is key to running a modern media company, and Beehive has been an excellent partner for us over the years, therefore we are delighted to secure another round of financing through the platform. The choice of debt financing suits the way we operate and our profitability. Ultimately the belief that we have in our modern media business, and our ambitions for the region, leads us to decide that debt is much cheaper than equity at this juncture for Augustus Media.”
He added: “It’s been our intention to expand Lovin as the leading local news and lifestyle platform across the region, today we are delighted to launch new cities in the UAE and KSA, to build on our presence in these markets, and also at the same time enter in our first partnership for Pakistan. A country of over 200m people who have a huge appetite for news along with many untold stories of city life. And luckily in Bilal Syed, we have found someone we know and trust through previously partnering together on Lovin Dubai. We are very excited to start out in Islamabad with Lovin Isloo with a view to eventually launching in Lahore and Karachi as well.”
Craig Moore, Founder and CEO of Beehive, Stated: “We’re delighted to have facilitated another funding round for Augustus Media helping support their continued growth in the region. Their improved rating means lower financing costs and is a testament to how businesses can help achieve their ambitions accessing faster financing with Beehive’s digital lending platform.”
Journalist Bilal Syed, Lovin Partner of Pakistan, commented: “I am very excited to be running this joint venture with Augustus Media. I started Lovin Isloo because I believe the city has so much to offer and yet a lot of people are unaware of that. Later, with the expansion of Lovin Lahore and Lovin Karachi, I want to be able to make life easier for the local Pakistani audience in finding out information for each city respectively while remaining informed about the latest details individually. We at Lovin Isloo also want to become a voice for issues that still remain at large for the Pakistani audience, through positivity. This venture will definitely be a game-changer in the Pakistani media industry.”
