Bailey Wins Approval For Trinity Strategy
Trinity Mirror chief executive Sly Bailey has received a vote of support from an unlikely source as she presses ahead with her revamp at the newspaper publisher.
There has been speculation throughout the year that Trinity may be prepared to sell off the Daily Mirror and its Sunday titles in order to concentrate on its regional business. This has been refuted by the management which has instead committed itself to a root and branch cost-cutting programme (see Bailey Seeks To Cut Costs At Trinity Mirror).
In the past year, sales of the Daily Mirror have slumped below the two million mark and Tweedy Browne had indicated that it might sell its shares if Trinity did not respond quickly to the “slow but predictable decline” of its national titles.
However, the US shareholder has now expressed general satisfaction with Bailey’s plans, which are aimed at saving the group around £25 million by the end of 2005 (see Trinity To Reap Rewards Of Cost-Cutting, Says Merrill Lynch). Trinity has announced several hundred job losses and is currently looking for a buyer for its Northern Ireland titles (see Trinity Mirror Review Sheds NI Titles, Retains Nationals).
“I was quite sceptical, but I believe Ms Bailey is doing everything by the book,” said Thomas Shrager, a managing director at Tweedy. He went on to commend the editorial and aesthetic changes made to the Daily Mirror which won plaudits but lost readers with the hard news agenda instituted by editor Piers Morgan.
Shares in Trinity Mirror were up 0.5p at 544p at noon today.
