HT&E ramps up focus on audio as it preps to take on Spotify

Here, There and Everywhere (HT&E) is determined to reposition itself as a market-leading audio company rather than a broad holding group, following the sale of outdoor furniture business Adshel last year, and the closure of esports operation Gfinity at the end of 2019.

CEO Ciaran Davis told Mumbrella following the group’s financial results that the company is uniquely positioned to capitalise on the booming audio landscape – more so than competitors Southern Cross Austereo (SCA) and Nova Entertainment – and it could eventually battle the streaming giants, rather than just other radio businesses.

HT&E CEO Davis (left) speaking at Mumbrella’s Audioland earlier this uear

“Obviously [after] the sale of Adshel last year, we spent a bit of time refocusing in terms of ‘Where to next for us’. We sold the business at a very good time, realised a lot of shareholder value that we knew was within the business. Previous to that, we were looking at other areas like esports and expanding out, but I think we also felt like we had such a cracking business in ARN, and that audio is in a renaissance period,” he said, noting the proliferation of audio options including podcasting and streaming was actually complimenting, rather than cannibalising, radio.