Desmond Pulls The Plug On Express Websites

Northern & Shell, the new owner of Express Newspapers, has sold the group’s internet sites for a nominal fee. The ownership of the sites – which include Express.co.uk, Sportlive.co.uk and Allaboutparents.com – has been transferred to stockbroker Seymour Pierce for £1.

The move is part of a series of cost-cutting moves by Northern & Shell chairman, Richard Desmond, who bought the group for £125m last month (see Gossip And Girlie Publisher Takes On Express And Star). It is believed that the sites were losing up to £8m a year.

Express is the latest publisher to react to fallout in the dotcom sector by scaling back investment in new media. Yesterday, former owners of the Express, United Business Media, announced it was to halve its online spend (see United News And Media Predicts Profits In Line With Expectations, Confirms Name Change) and Emap (see Emap Announces Cuts To New Media Investment Plans) and News International have also been forced to change their spending plans (see News International’s New Media Section Disbanded).

There was no-one available for comment at Express Newspapers.

Express Newspapers: 020 7928 8000