SPASA acquires Australasian Leisure Management

The Swimming Pool & Spa Association of Australia Ltd (SPASA Australia) has acquired Australasian Leisure Management (ALM) magazine and the ausleisure.com.au website.

SPASA Australia CEO Lindsay McGrath says the acquisition augments the association’s growing stable of media brands, which includes the assets of this title, SPLASH!, in print, digital and the SPLASH! Pool & Spa Trade Show; as well as consumer-facing Pool & Spa magazine, website and lifestyle events.

“Our mission is to protect, promote and grow the industry,” he says. “Acquisition of the ALM assets positions us to better deliver on that promise, dovetailing into our existing media portfolio and enabling us to further our reach.”

McGrath says that SPASA’s success since going national in 2017 is due to a collaborative approach with industry partners.

“Australasian Leisure Management provides SPASA with the perfect communication tool to work more closely with other associations and groups to help promote and grow the aquatics, recreation and leisure sectors.”

ALM publisher and Australian Leisure Media Pty Ltd co-director, Nigel Benton, says it is an incredibly exciting move.

“We share a common goal with SPASA,” he says. “To effectively communicate what is best about this industry.

“The global media landscape is changing rapidly. In the B2B space, access to SPASA’s extensive resources will allow us to expand in new directions – and at a scale we couldn’t achieve as an independent publisher.”

ALM editor and Australian Leisure Media Pty Ltd co-director, Karen Sweaney-Benton says the move is a win for the industry, noting that SPASA’s backing means they can take advantage of emerging technologies, develop new partnerships and move on with new initiatives to better serve the industry.

“With the support of SPASA we can deliver more editorial content to benefit readers and the wider industry along with developing new industry-relevant research and information resources,” she says.

McGrath says that SPASA Australia’s acquisition will see the editorial, production and management team behind Australasian Leisure Management magazine and the ausleisure.com.au website continue to lead the business under new ownership with editorial independence and credibility unchanged.

Caption: Australian Leisure Media Pty Ltd co-directors, Nigel Benton and Karen Sweaney-Benton, with SPASA Australia CEO Lindsay McGrath