Denis O’Brien: The Independent will close by Christmas

Independent News & Media’s second-biggest shareholder Denis O’Brien claims the company’s flagship newspaper, The Independent, will close by the end of the year.

Speaking at the Global Economic Forum in Dublin, O’Brien said: “There’s no point in us as a company subsidising a newspaper that really nobody wants to read in the United Kingdom. It’s not a relevant newspaper any more and this newspaper’s going to be closed at Christmas.”

O’Brien has been disagreeing with the INM board and chief executive Gavin O’Reilly about the future of The Independent and it’s sister title The Independent on Sunday for some time, according to reports.

The shareholder is also thought to be in an ongoing dispute with O’Reilly about the repayment of its €200 million debt.

In response to O’Brien’s comments on Friday, INM said: “Denis O’Brien has made clear his hostility. But this is his most outspoken criticism yet and it does nothing to motivate the staff who work at the newspaper.”

In the latest ABC release, The Independent‘s circulation was down by a hefty 18.3% year on year, leaving it with a total below 188,000 copies.

The Independent on Sunday also suffered a substantial year on year loss of 18.3% but managed to increase its circulation by 0.3% over the period to nearly 161,000 copies.