Through a private acquisition, Lars Vesterløkke has secured a 33% ownership stake in The Copenhagen Post, making Vesterløkke the largest shareholder of Denmark’s leading English-language media.
From 2008 to 2024, Vesterløkke served as CEO of Ritzaus Bureau and previously held senior leadership roles at public service broadcaster DR, including acting Director General (2004–2005) and Head of Programming for several years.
As part of the transaction, Vesterløkke steps in as CEO and Publisher, taking over from Jesper Skeel, who will remain as part of the daily management and co-owner of The Copenhagen Post.
The Post focuses editorially and commercially on the nearly 700,000 expats living in Denmark—primarily highly educated professionals in larger Danish companies, the diplomatic corps and exchange students.
Subscription numbers are increasing
“The Copenhagen Post has seen positive development since its relaunch two years ago. The website now reaches over 100,000 readers monthly, subscription numbers are increasing, and our Connect Club network is growing month by month. But there is still a great deal of untapped potential that I’m excited to explore”, says Lars Vesterløkke, the new CEO.
Joins new Advisory Board
The sellers are REKOM co-founder Mads Christian Friis and Public Relations executive Nicolai Bonnén Rossen (via GD1 Invest ApS and Nic. Rossen Holdings ApS, respectively), who took initiative to acquire the media in 2023 from long-time owner Ejvind Sandal.
Since then, the duo have been the financial drivers securing the continuation of The Copenhagen Post – digitally and daily known as @CPHPost – which is today followed by more than 63,000 on Facebook, 17,000 on Instagram and thousands of others on LinkedIn and X.
As part of the transaction, the two investors retain a 10.5% stake each and will join a newly established Advisory Board for the owners – which in addition to Vesterløkke, Skeel, Friis, and Rossen also includes former A4 Media Editor-in-Chief Nicolai Kampmann.
He will contribute to the continued editorial and commercial development of The Copenhagen Post.
Needed a turnaround
“It always puzzled us that Denmark didn’t have a leading English-language media outlet. So when the opportunity arose to acquire The Copenhagen Post in 2023, we saw it as a chance to create expat-relevant content that could also be cited internationally,” states Nicolai Bonnén Rossen on behalf of the sellers and adds:
“A turnaround was needed for Denmark’s leading English-language publication, and we set out to do just that with new management and editorial staffing. We have completed a transition from monthly print publication to daily digital news coverage which is why we are very pleased to welcome Lars Vesterløkke who we believe can take the project to the next level —and we look forward to supporting him through the Advisory Board.”
An ambitious new owner
Originally founded by San Shepherd in 1997, The Copenhagen Post has seen various ownership changes over the years and has received media support from Slots- & Kulturstyrelsen (The Danish Agency for Culture and Palaces, ed.) for its role in informing Denmark’s international community.
In addition, The Copenhagen Post is frequently cited internationally for news related to Denmark, the Faroe Islands, and Greenland.
“There are nearly 700,000 internationals living in Denmark—and likely more to come, as the country continues to need skilled workers from abroad. The Copenhagen Post’s mission is to make it easier for internationals to live and work in Denmark. Our goal is to reach a significant share of both current and future internationals with informative and useful content—to grow our daily readership, our subscriber base, and our Connect Club network, which aims to make a real difference. I truly look forward to that”, ends Lars Vesterløkke.
