Investment firm makes bid for Observer

Financial group Capital Ideas has made a bid to buy the Observer from Guardian News & Media.

The investment firm and financial publisher said this morning that it had bid a nominal sum for the title, with a view to turning it into a weekly news magazine with accompanying website.

It was recently revealed that GNM was considering options for the world’s oldest Sunday newspaper, including possibly closing it or replacing it with a mid-week magazine.

According to reports, Capital Ideas is considering turning the Observer into a weekly news magazine under the existing brand, with the paper’s current management initially funding all losses.

Capital Ideas said it had sent a preliminary letter to GMG’s chief operating officer Derek Gannon on August 3 containing details of the proposal.

The latest national newspaper ABC figures were released on Friday, showing that the Observer‘s circulation was down 7% year on year for July, to 398,330.