The encyclopedia · Strategy & Leadership · Strategic decision · 2025
Refinery29 spent a decade building a UK audience — and closed the office in one morning
Refinery29 closed its UK operations in September 2025 after ten years. The digital lifestyle brand also shut its Unbothered sub-brand.
Refinery29 · Sundial Media & Technology Group · 2025-09-09
What happened
Refinery29 announced on September 9, 2025 that it was closing its UK operations and making company-wide cuts including laying off journalists. Its sub-brand Unbothered, which produced lifestyle content aimed at Black women, also ceased its UK operation. Refinery29 had been operating in the UK for ten years.
The brand had been acquired by Vice Media Group in 2020 during Vice's acquisition spree, then sold to Sundial Media & Technology Group (SMTG) in 2024 after Vice filed for bankruptcy. The UK closure followed the Australian edition's shutdown in 2024.
A spokesperson for SMTG framed the closure as part of a "transformation in media, one where technology amplifies, not replaces, human creativity." Former staff including a long-serving art director were made redundant, and freelance writers expressed concern about losing the platform. Refinery29 continued operations in the US, France, and Germany.
Why it happened
- Refinery29 UK had survived Vice's bankruptcy and the 2024 sale to SMTG, but the UK market was too small for a standalone editorial operation without its parent's distribution network.
- The Australian edition had already closed in 2024, suggesting the international strategy across Vice-acquired brands was being wound down.
- Digital media brands built on social traffic and advertising, rather than subscriptions, faced shrinking revenue as platforms changed algorithms and ad rates declined.
The lesson
A media brand that expands internationally through acquisition without a local subscription revenue stream is only as stable as its parent company's balance sheet.
Aftermath
Refinery29 continued in the US, France, and Germany. The UK closure was part of the unwinding of Vice Media's international expansion after its 2023 bankruptcy, following the Australian edition's 2024 closure.
Sources
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