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February 18, 2008

‘Asian Heat’ Ikonz on hold as editor quits

By Paul McNally

A monthly glossy magazine that earned the nickname ‘Asian Heat’has suspended publication following the abrupt departure of its founding editor.

Ikonz, which combined music and fashion with British and Asian showbiz news, employed eight staff and drew upon freelance contributions from a network of reporters dotted around the UK.

Editor Reena Combo left the company in the new year with no immediate job to go to, and the last issue to be printed was in December.

Ikonz launched in December 2006 and was published by AEM Worldwide. A second company, Ikonz Ltd, was set up shortly before Christmas.

The Birmingham-based title secured a nationwide distribution deal last February which saw the magazine placed alongside mainstream celebrity titles such as Heat, OK! and Hello! on the newsstand.

An Ikonz source told Press Gazette: ‘It’s all been put on hold for now. It hasn’t got an editor in place and doesn’t know what direction to go in.”

The title was not ABC registered, but claimed a monthly print run of 35,000.

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One of the magazine’s contributors told Press Gazette: ‘We were getting a number of firsts with TV stars and other celebrities – a number of exclusives, including Halle Berry and Jennifer Lopez. It was creating quite a buzz. As far as we were concerned, it was doing quite well.”

Ikonz leased offices in the Jewellery Business Centre in Birmingham. A spokeswoman for the business centre told Press Gazette: ‘The blinds have been pulled down in its office for quite some time and nobody’s answering.”

AEM Worldwide was required by law to send its end-of-year return – an annual update of directors’ and shareholders’ details – by the end of December.

A Companies House spokeswoman said three reminder letters had been sent to the company, and its directors faced prosecution if they persistently ignored them.

Press Gazette attempted on several occasions to contact AEM Worldwide managing director Harjinder Singh, but at the time of going to press, had not received a response.

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