A “SLOW news” media outlet founded by an ex-BBC boss made a £4.6million loss in a year.
Tortoise Media was launched in 2019 by James Harding with an emphasis on longform stories.
FacebookTortoise Media has reported a £4.6million loss[/caption]
It has since focused more on podcasts and hosting media events.
Newly-published accounts reveal Tortoise made a £4.6million loss before tax in the year to December 31, 2022.
This figure is a 45 per cent increase on losses experienced in 2021, the Companies House filing shows.
It also means the firm’s losses over the last three years now total £16.3million.
By comparison, Tortoise has experienced a 63 per cent year-on-year growth in revenue from its audio work.
The company also boasted revenue from its Responsible Business Forums has “nearly tripled” – although no figure was given.
Tortoise said in the accounts it was a “year we decided to invest in the business and are confident this will enable us to achieve our goal of profitability”.
The investments, which followed a £10million fundraising drive, were put into staffing, a festival and other events.
Tortoise also reported a 21 per cent growth in membership revenue after launching a subscription for its podcasts.
Founded in 2018, ex-Times editor Harding vowed the company would deliver “open journalism” in a “new type of newsroom”.
Instead of breaking news, Tortoise aimed to publish “slow”, long-read journalism but has since branched out into audio.
Membership prices range from £50 to £450 and has been boosted by cash injections from fundraisers.
Harding was director of BBC News between August 2013 and January 2018.
The company was co-founded by James Harding in 2018 Published: [#item_custom_pubDate]
