Reed To Sell Off All Regional Titles

Reed Elsevier is putting Reed Regional Newspapers up for sale, it has announced today. It will also sell the consumer books business in the Netherlands and the consumer magazine titles it has in the USA and the Netherlands.

IPC Magazines, part of Reed Elsevier, will remain as their only consumer publishing activity.

Ian Irvine and Herman Bruggink, Chairmen of Reed Elsevier, commented: “This move continues Reed Elsevier’s strategy of increasing the focus on the high value-added areas of information publishing and reducing the relative exposure to consumer markets.”

IPC’s position as market leader, together with its substantial profits and cash flow are cited as justificaiton for retaining IPC.

Reed Regional Newspapers, which last year had a turnover of £131m, publishes 4 evening and 90 weekly titles, and is currently the UK’s largest publisher of free newspapers. Titles include the Worcester Journal, the world’s oldest newspaper. Reed titles are based in the areas of London, Midlands and Northern England.

This news comes just one week after Thomson’s announcement that it has sold all of its titles except the Scottish ones, to Trinity and Emap (dependent on the MMC). Thomson’s Scottish titles are also currently up for sale.