The Aberdeen Independent has gone out of business after failing to find a buyer, ending 12 years of publishing.
The front page story on last week’s final copy was headlined ‘End of the road”, and a message to staff said that while a buyer still may be found in the coming weeks, the paper will not be publishing any more editions in the foreseeable future.
The story said: ‘This will be the last issue of the Aberdeen Independent. Staff were informed at the end of April that after 12 years of publication the owner Keith Barlow would close the paper at the end of May, but was going to hand over the reins to another interested party.
‘Though there may be trading with prospective owners and the paper may still rise from the ashes, there will be no newspaper published in the short term.”
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Managing director Eric Farquharson told Press Gazette: ‘With the state the market, it’s not been easy. We weren’t trading too badly but the prediction that there’s a couple of tough years ahead has been a catalyst.
‘It’s been a tremendous 12 years but unfortunately we’re calling it a day.”
The free, weekly paper had debts of around £200,000 but claimed to have assets of more than £300,000.
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The Independent was named best free newspaper in eight of the past 10 Scottish Newspaper Society Awards.
The paper’s 30 staff will now be made redundant in an ‘orderly’way. The 54-page paper employed two reporters, a sub-editor and an editor.
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