The Horton family has a long history in publishing in New Zealand, dating back to the 1870s but has fallen on difficult times in Australia.
Alfred Horton, a journalist and printer by training, was involved in several early newspapers, and was one of the early shareholders in the New Zealand Herald.
The family ended its association with the company that owned the Herald in 1996 and set up Horton Media, which was Australasia’s largest independent contract newspaper printing business.
Michael Horton stepped down as chairman in 2014 and his son Matthew looked after the day-to-day business, based in Australia.
In June this year Horton Media shut the doors on its Queensland coldset printing plant and quit the Australian newspaper publishing industry after suffering losses.
Matthew Horton claims it wasn’t making any money in Australia due to predatory pricing tactics by Australia due to predatory pricing tactics by rival Fairfax Media over the past two to three years.
He claims Fairfax was offering printing at prices well below what anyone would consider profitable, along with offering clients “ridiculously extended” payment terms.
There has reportedly been offshore buyer interest in the plant equipment.
The New Zealand printing operation, which prints the NBR print edition, is in a “much stronger position,” he says.
One of the last things printed on the Brisbane press was a 904-page wine guide that lists 41,000 wine show scores from Australian and New Zealand wine shows held last year.
The book is part of a suite of wine-related products Horton is focusing on now through digital data and analytical wine portal Vinloco. It has an app that provides an instant assessment of a wine's value. Matthew came up with the idea for the app five years ago when struggling to choose from the vast array of wines on sale in Australia.
“We have to get it to the point where it is commercially viable and then we can roam abroad with it, hopefully,” he says.
The wine guide released this year will be repeated annually, though he’s adamant it won’t be printed by Fairfax Media next time around.
Matthew Horton says he and his wife Roxane plan to remain in Brisbane though his Sunshine Coast holiday home has been listed for sale. The Marcus Beach beachfront property last traded at $A2 million in 2011 when bought by fashion designer Lorna Clarkson. The asking price is now $A2.5m, The Australian reported.
Michael and his wife Dame Rosie (knighted for her services to fundraising for charities over 40 years) spread their time between their Remuera home and a holiday home in Sanctuary Cove, south of Brisbane, Australia.
Photo: Tony Nyburg/NZ Listener