DMGT bought the title and its various brand extensions from a consortium of investors including Sir Bernard Gray. 

Gray and his colleagues acquired New Scientist from Relx (formerly Reed Elsevier) four years ago. 

New Scientist has a weekly print circulation of 84,215 and is printed by Precision Colour Printing in Telford. Its combined print and digital edition circulation is 134,326 while its brand reach on social media channels runs into millions. 

Around 75% of sales comes from subscriptions, and DMGT expects the business to generate operating profits of around £7m on sales of £20m-plus. 

It will become part of DMT’s Consumer Media division. 

Commenting on the acquisition, DMGT chairman Lord Rothermere said: "New Scientist is a world-renowned publication loved by its readers, and we are both thrilled and proud to welcome it to the DMGT family.  

“They are a specialised and talented team who showcase the best of science journalism, bringing integrity, curiosity and craftmanship to their work.  We are very much looking forward to supporting their exciting plans to grow as the go-to publication for anyone interested in the scientific world around us.”

Gray and his colleagues acquired New Scientist via their vehicle Kingston Acquisitions, which was subsequently renamed New Scientist Ltd, in April 2017. At the time the total consideration was just under £18.4m.