View all newsletters
Sign up for our free email newsletters

Fighting for quality news media in the digital age.

  1. Archive content
May 26, 2015

Newsquest acquires 29 more newspapers as it buys Greenock Telegraph publisher Romanes

By Dominic Ponsford

UK regional press giant Newsquest has acquired Romanes Media Group, one of the larger independent local newspaper publishers.

Romanes is based in Scotland and publishes 19 paid-for weekly newspapers, nine free titles and one daily, the Greenock Telegraph in Scotland, which has a circulation of 11,264, according to ABC.

Romanes titles include the Dunbarton Reporter, Dunfermline Press, Alloa Advertiser and Carrick Herald in Scotland. It also publishes the Impartial Reporter in Northern Ireland and eight titles in Berkshire, England, including: the Reading Chronicle, Reading Midweek, Bracknell News and the Observer in Slough.

Romanes Media Group was created by a management buyout of Dunfermline Press in 2012. The management team took a 10 per cent stake in the company, with Lloyds Bank taking the remaining 90 per cent in exchange for writing off £25m of debt.

Dunfermline Press paid Trinity Mirror £10m for its Berkshire titles in 2007.

Newsquest does not currently publish newspapers in Berkshire, however it has a strong presense in surrounding counties. Newsquest publishes the Herald and Times Group in Glasgow and no titles Northern Ireland.

Because the two groups do not overlap, the deal looks unlikely to attract problems with the competition authorities.

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

Newsquest remains the second largest UK regional newspaper publisher following the acquisition. The deal gives Newsquest 215 regional newspaper titles in total: 20 dailies, 81 paid-for weeklies and 100 weekly frees.

Romanes employs some 270 staff and was founded in 1859 as the Dunfermline Press.

Newsquest chief executive Henry Faure Walker said the new “portfolio of good quality weekly titles provides a strong fit with plenty of opportunity”.

Asked whether the acquisition will raise any regulatory issues, Faure Walker told Press Gazette: ""We operate in separate markets so we don't envisage any issues from a competition regulator perspective."

US-owned Newsquest is currently facing strike ballots in London and Yorkshire in protest at redundancies and restructures.

Topics in this article :

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