View all newsletters
Sign up for our free email newsletters

Fighting for quality news media in the digital age.

  1. Archive content
July 10, 2003updated 17 May 2007 11:30am

Trinity’s Irish titles could be first to go

By Press Gazette

Trinity Mirror could be set to sell both its Irish titles and its exhibition and magazine businesses.

As speculation mounts about the outcome of chief executive Sly Bailey’s strategic review, a leading media analyst has predicted that the company’s “non-core” businesses will soon be on the market.

Paul Richards, of stockbrokers Numis Securities, said: “The national titles are core, the regional titles by and large would be core, the sports titles are probably core – but when it comes to the Irish titles, I would expect them to go. I would also expect magazines and exhibitions to go.”

Trinity Mirror owns the Daily and Sunday Mirrors, The People and in Scotland the Daily Record and Sunday Mail. It also has 230 regional papers, a sports division, which includes the Racing Post, an exhibitions arm and a number of small magazines such as Geriatric Medicine, Music Mart and Sports Car Classics.

The company’s two main Northern Ireland titles are the Derry Journal and Belfast’s The News Letter.

Richards said: “It used to make sense to have these titles when Trinity also owned the Belfast Telegraph, but since it sold that to Tony O’Reilly, it doesn’t make as much sense to have a small operation in that country. The economies of scale aren’t there.”

Content from our partners
MHP Group's 30 To Watch awards for young journalists open for entries
How PA Media is helping newspapers make the digital transition
Publishing on the open web is broken, how generative AI could help fix it

He added: “I’m not not sure if the sports titles are core, I wouldn’t be surprised if they went.

“The small magazine operations and the exhibitions are also fairly small in the context of the group. Trinity has a high level of debt, about two thirds of a billion pounds, and it is going through a re-pressing programme with some of its regional presses. It would be very useful to cut down some debt or put some money towards re-pressing.”

Trinity Mirror has declined to comment about Bailey’s strategic review prior to the publication of the company’s interim results on 31 July.

By Dominic Ponsford

Email pged@pressgazette.co.uk to point out mistakes, provide story tips or send in a letter for publication on our "Letters Page" blog

Select and enter your email address Weekly insight into the big strategic issues affecting the future of the news industry. Essential reading for media leaders every Thursday. Your morning brew of news about the world of news from Press Gazette and elsewhere in the media. Sent at around 10am UK time. Our weekly does of strategic insight about the future of news media aimed at US readers. A fortnightly update from the front-line of news and advertising. Aimed at marketers and those involved in the advertising industry.
  • Business owner/co-owner
  • CEO
  • COO
  • CFO
  • CTO
  • Chairperson
  • Non-Exec Director
  • Other C-Suite
  • Managing Director
  • President/Partner
  • Senior Executive/SVP or Corporate VP or equivalent
  • Director or equivalent
  • Group or Senior Manager
  • Head of Department/Function
  • Manager
  • Non-manager
  • Retired
  • Other
Visit our privacy Policy for more information about our services, how New Statesman Media Group may use, process and share your personal data, including information on your rights in respect of your personal data and how you can unsubscribe from future marketing communications.
Thank you

Thanks for subscribing.

Websites in our network