Centaur Media and Wilmington, two mid-sized business publishers, reported healthy cash balances on Friday, boosting prospects for the forthcoming auction of Emap’s business-to-business titles.

Centaur, which publishes magazines such as Marketing Week and The Lawyer, said pre-tax profits for the year to June 30 rose 28 per cent to £16.9m, compared with £13.2m the year before.