MUMBAI: BBC Worldwide, the commercial arm of the BBC, has sold women's magazine Eve to UK publishing group Haymarket.

The decision to sell Eve resulted from the Commercial Review undertaken by the BBC last year. Haymarket will take over publishing responsibility starting with the April 2005 issue.

Eve launched in 2001. The BBC claims that it is currently Britain's fastest growing women's glossy magazine with an ABC of 150,069. Haymarket intends to continue to invest in the title as the foundation for a new women's interest group of magazines.

BBC Magazines MD Peter Phippen said, "We are very proud of what we have achieved with eve, and the team we have created is first class. Once the decision had been taken to sell, it was important for the future of the magazine and the staff that we completed a sale as quickly as possible. It was equally important to find a publisher who shares our belief in the aims of the magazine and who was keen to keep the team together.

"I am delighted that we have secured an exciting future for Eve with Haymarket and believe we have found a new home for the magazine where the team will flourish and continue the phenomenal success that we have achieved since its launch."

Haymarket Group MD Eric Verdon-Roe said: "This is a significant move for Haymarket and we are very excited to have the opportunity to acquire such a successful title with the entire publishing staff on board. We aim for Eve to be the flagship of a new women's interest group and fully intend to invest in its continued growth to ensure that it remains the very best magazine for the definitive woman."

Haymarket Group Chairman Lord Heseltine, said that the acquisition was the latest in a series of new investments at the company: "This is the latest step in the expansion of Haymarket into another new area. Before Christmas, we completed the acquisition of the Thalacker Group, the leading horticultural publishers in Germany and earlier in 2004, acquired AJB Publishing, a significant technology publisher in Australia."