CENTAUR MEDIA, owner of Marketing Week and The Lawyer magazines, is calling in advisers to carry out a strategic review that could lead to a management bid to take the company private.

JP Morgan Cazenove is in pole position to be appointed after a beauty parade instigated by chairman and founder Graham Sherren.

He is unhappy at the performance of Centaur’s shares. They peaked at 155p a year ago but had fallen to 82p on Friday on fears of recession, valuing the business at only £118m. Centaur relies more heavily on recruitment advertising than some of its rivals.

Sherren, who still owns a 5.9% stake, founded the company in 1982. He has been nonexecutive chairman for a year but is still very involved despite handing over the reins to Geoff Wilmot, the finance director turned chief executive.

Priced at 100p a share, the company joined the stock market four years ago when backer Veronis Suhler Stevenson wanted to sell its investment.

Sources say the company is open-minded about what action to take. The move could prompt takeover interest as consolidation picks up pace in the business publishing sector.

Centaur, which also owns Design Week, New Media Age and associated awards events and shows, made an operating profit of £15.9m last year on sales of £90.3m.

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