Telegraph Forms New Media Group

The Telegraph Group has established a separate company to house its new media division. Hollinger Telegraph New Media will develop the group’s online activities and expand its e-commerce opportunities.

The new company, which has been in the pipeline for months (see Newsline Brief) will be headed by Hugo Drayton, currently marketing director and director of new media for the Telegraph Group. It will house a total of 17 sites owned by the group which include Electronic Telegraph, www.handbag.com, the group’s joint venture with Boots, and UK portal UKMax.com. There are also plans to be actively involved in various other digital projects including online investment and financial information service, Interactive Investor International (iii), in which the Telegraph owns a 47% stake.

Drayton said of the new division: “We have been at the forefront of new media since establishing Electronic Telegraph five years ago. Now the market is ready for bigger investment; online opportunites are valued much more highly than those of print at the moment. We hope a separate operation will generate more revenue and more value for our shareholders.”

He did not rule out an eventual flotation of the new company. The group’s parent company Hollinger is listed on the US market.

Telegraph Group: 0171 538 5000