Big Issue chief is honoured
4 Aug 08
Ian MacArthur CA, group managing director of the Big Issue, has been named Social Entrepreneur of the Year in the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year awards for London and the South East
by Richard Goslan
With John Bird, founder and editor-in-chief, MacArthur won praise for helping turn the Big Issue into one of the highest selling arts and current affairs magazines in the UK, with a weekly circulation of over 175,000 copies, It has earned vendors £200m in profits since its launch in 1991.
“A lot of people come into this field with good ideals, so there are plenty of soft hearts but we need hard heads,” says MacArthur.
“We don’t want to do something that’s dull and worthy. We want something that’s appealing, and my main focus is to sell more and more magazines.
“When I first came in I felt it was a slight hybrid of charity and business, so I concentrated on the business side of things to make the magazine sustainable. Circulation is up 25 per cent year-on-year in England and Scotland.”