Big Players Ignored Us At Their Peril

John Madejski, 56, chairman of Reading FC, and Paul Gibbon, 50, founded Hurst Publishing in 1977. The same year they launched The Thames Valley Trader, a magazine specialising in selling cars. In 1982 they formed an alliance with Guardian Media Group and changed the magazines name to Autotrader. Their turnover last year was 48.2 m.

STARTING PANGS

John: It was a real David and Goliath battle when we launched. We were this little fledgling company taking on the big players, yet they ignored us at their peril.

I remember Paul and I went to see a buyer for W H Smith and showed him the magazine. Have you still got day jobs? he asked. When we said we were both still working at the Reading Gazette he said: Well, I suggest you put your shirts back on and go back to work, you havent a hope in hell of succeeding.

 

It was pretty damning stuff but we went ahead anyway. I knew Paul was a first-class salesman and a hard-working guy, which is one of the reasons I asked him to partner me.

We had to do everything ourselves in the beginning, taking photographs, selling the space, calling wholesalers, talking to dealers. We had a tiny rented office about 8 ft by 6 ft, which meant we had to go into the car park if we wanted any privacy. Wed say: Meet you in the Marina Suite, which was Pauls Austin Marina.

We certainly went through the pain barrier. I think you have to keep things tight when you start a business. Its dead easy to spend money left, right and centre. I say: keep it a slim greyhound of a business and build on that.

HEALTHY PARTNERSHIP

John: Paul and I sing off the same hymn-sheet in terms of progress and expansion. As there are only two partners, the buck stops with us. It means any decisions are made quickly, without dithering or calling a board meeting.

Paul: John and I have always had a healthy respect for one another. We were both achievers and both wanted to go into business for ourselves. We discarded several ideas, like opening a furniture warehouse, because we didnt have the money.

Then John came back from holiday in California having seen a magazine with pictures of cars for sale. We were both selling spaces to the motor trade so we knew instantly this was a golden opportunity.

Before John told me about the idea he made me sign a piece of paper saying I wouldnt copy it anywhere in the world. Obviously he trusted me!

MAKE OR BREAK

I remember thinking it was quite funny seeing our very first magazine on sale for 10 p. We distributed half a million of them, then sat back and waited for the business to come flooding in.

Three days later nothing had happened so we knew we had to go out and make it work. the breakthrough came after Eddie Shah took on the unions. When all the publishing houses in the Reading area were on strike, we found one that wasnt unionised and managed to get the magazine on the streets.

From then on we began to grow. Weve now diversified into other businesses and have an understanding that we offer the other a 50-50 split if its a serious deal. When John bought Reading football club, he offered me the chance to invest but I couldnt afford it then. We could both afford to retire now, but Im a great believer in having something to get up for in the morning.