Around 30 jobs out of 150 that were set to be lost as part of a regional publisher’s cutbacks have been saved after a company it owned was sold.

DC Thomson has confirmed the sale of magazine publisher Aceville to Enthuse Group.

Around 150 jobs were set to be lost at Aceville as part of a round of cuts by Dundee-based DC Thomson, with magazine titles including Let’s Knit, Grow your Own, Healthy Diet, Busymitts and Craft Store closing as a result.

But, according to media blog Flashes & Flames, around one in five affected staff at the Colchester-based firm will now be saved, with at least 12 print and online brands continuing to be published.

DC Thomson’s Dundee headquarters.

Enthuse Group, which employs 80 people and has a portfolio of 30 magazines and associated websites and events, was co-founded by former Northcliffe Newspapers finance director Owen Davies.

He told Flashes & Flames: “I have been working with DC Thomson night and day to try and find a way of saving at least some of the Aceville business.

“I realise that the expectation of saving only around 30 jobs is a small consolation to all the people affected by the closure and I will continue to discuss all options in consultation with employees.”

A spokesperson for DC Thomson told HTFP: “We are pleased to announce that we have accepted an offer from Enthuse Group to purchase the titles previously published by Aceville.

“Colleagues will transfer to Enthuse with immediate effect, and we will be working with the purchasing company over the coming months to ensure the process runs as smoothly as possible.”

Around 100 editorial staff have been threatened with redundancy as part of the cuts, with Frank O’Donnell, editor-in-chief of the publisher’s Aberdeen dailies, among those to have left.