TheStreet.co.uk, which launched in February this year, was 63%
owned by the US company, the remaining shares being held by banks
Chase Manhattan and Barclays and venture capitalists 3i.
TheStreet.com is publicly owned. The UK arm was expected to run out
of money by the end of next month and none of its investors is
prepared to continue supporting it.
Advertising pushed TheStreet.co.uk’s monthly revenues to around
£200,000. However, this compared with monthly spending of £350,000.
TheStreet.com’s share price peaked at $60 following flotation on
Nasdaq in May 1999. The price slumped to $3 in yesterday’s
trading.
In a statement, TheStreet.com’s CEO Thomas Clarke said: “In
today’s environment, companies have two clear choices: chart a
direct path to profitability or shut down.”
According to FT.com, TheStreet.com’s business model was changed
from one charging for subscription to one charging only for
“premium” content. FT.com reports that “The Wall Street Journal’s
site, WSJ.com, has been the only site to successfully charge a fee
for its content,” with 500,000 paying subscribers.
