Barclay Brothers Could Re-Launch The Business

Owners of the Telegraph Group, the Barclay brothers, could re-launch their loss-making Sunday newspaper, the Business, as a magazine.

According to reports in the trade press, Sir David and Sir Frederick will in the next few days decide whether to convert the title into a weekly magazine.

The paper apparently loses about £3 million a year and commissioned market research is said to have revealed that re-launching as a magazine is the preferred option for the Business. Other options under consideration included mirroring the Guardian‘s new Berliner format or changing its publication date.

A distribution deal with the Mail On Sunday, which pushed circulation up, ended in April 2004 and the Business subsequently struck a distribution deal with Newsquest.

The paper, which has aimed to cover the same global business agenda as other titles like the FT and the Economist, re-launched in January 2002 when it changed its name from the Sunday Business, axed 47 journalists and cut its cover price.