South West law firm Foot Anstey has advised fast-growing media group Future on the latest in a string of acquisitions.
Bath-based Future, whose titles include FourFourTwo, How It Works and Total Film, paid £23.5m for London-based Barcroft Studios, which operates a YouTube channel with 9m subscribers and 63m followers on social media. 
Its work has also been shown on platforms ranging from the BBC to Netflix. Future said the acquisition of the video content creator would allow it to leverage its video expertise across its range of websites such as TechRadar and GamesRadar+.
Foot Anstey corporate partner Mark Millar, who is based in its Bristol office, led on the deal assisted by Chris Cook and Arron Jolliffe.
Mark, pictured, said: “Purchasing Barcroft Studios is a decisive move by Future, who are clearly thinking about the shape of the media landscape in years to come.
“Acquiring this prestigious video production company will help Future to deliver that ambition.” 
Future’s head of legal Sarah Hill said: “It was great to work with Foot Anstey on implementing a key transaction within our acquisition strategy.
“Under what was a very tight timetable, the Foot Anstey team’s pragmatism, commitment and drive to push matters forward was greatly appreciated, and we felt like their team was an extension of ours given the collaborative working relationship.”
The deal is the latest in a string of acquisitions by Future, including the £140m acquisition of Country Life publisher TI Media last month, and ends a strong year for the firm.
Last month it announced a 189% leap in pre-tax profits to £12.7m on sales up 70% at £221.5m in the year to September 30.
Foot Anstey has eight offices, including in London, from which it delivers a full service offering to businesses and high net worth individuals. Its Bristol office, which opened nearly seven years ago with just 10 employees, now has more than 160 staff.
