New London Freesheet May Expand To Other Cities

The new London freesheet, which News International will launch on 18 September, could expand to cover further cities in the UK.

News International Free Newspapers general manager, Ian Clark, told Media Week that NI also has another Associated Newspapers’ title in its sights, the morning free paper, Metro. Once thelondonpaper had proved itself, the strategy is to expand into other cities with regional editions.

“While we will initially focus on London, we have looked at what has happened with Metro nationally and are flexible enough to take the plan out [into other regions],” said Clark. It is reported that Metro expects to make £10 million profit this year.

He added that the paper would appeal to young, upmarket Londoners, providing “exactly what advertisers want”.

The new paper will begin with a distribution of between 300,000 and 400,000 copies outside commuter points in the capital. In May it was announced that Network Rail was seeking bids for a new commuter newspaper (see Bids Wanted For New Commuter Newspaper).