Trinity Mirror Buys Southnews For £284m

Trinity Mirror, the UK’s largest regional publisher, has today announced the acquisition of Southnews for £284.6m. The combination of the two regional newspaper groups will increase Trinity’s presence in the South East of England, a lucrative area for advertisers.

Southnews publishes 84 paid-for and free titles in London and the Home Counties and is the tenth largest regional publisher in the UK, according to the latest Newspaper Society figures (see Trinity Mirror Heads Regional Press League). The group today reported pre-tax profits of £7.8m for the six-monthly period to the end of September, compared to £6.5m for the same period last year.

Philip Graf, CEO of Trinity Mirror, said: “Southnews has a tremendous portfolio of high quality newspaper titles focused on Greater London and around the M25, as well as in Essex and Kent, which will be an excellent addition to Trinity Mirror’s regional and local newspaper franchise.”

The deal will further consolidate Britain’s regional newspaper industry, which has been the subject of a series of mergers in recent years as the sector strengthens itself in the face of extra competition from new media (see Feature: Regional Publishers Must Work Hard To Attract National Advertisers).

Gareth Clark, chairman of Southnews, said: “Though we have identified further opportunities for developing the company, the recent consolidation within the newspaper industry has undoubtedly diminished the range of suitable opportunities previously opened to Southnews.

“With this in mind, I am therefore convinced that the correct route to ensure the continued long term prosperity of our newspapers is by them now forming part of a larger newspaper group.”

Trinity Mirror: 020 7293 3000 Southnews: 020 8424 8883