Two historic family-run local newspapers have become the latest titles bought by a consortium made up of regional news group Iliffe Media and partners Peter and Rory Fowler.
Sister weeklies the New Milton Advertiser and Lymington Times join three earlier acquisitions by the joint partnership: The Stratford Herald, Scottish Provincial Press, and Newbury Weekly News.
The Advertiser was founded in 1928 and bought by Frederick Curry, who launched the Times just two years later. His son Charles took over as editor in 1966, having joined the titles as a teenaged reporter in 1936, and, aged 91, handed the reigns to his son Charles Edward in 2012.
Curry, known as Eddie, said: “For a quite some time we have been considering what was the best for the staff and the title in the long term.
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“I am delighted that we can pass it over to Iliffe and the Fowlers, who I genuinely believe will give both the staff and the A&T the best opportunity for continuing to prosper in the future.”
David Fordham, a non-executive director of Iliffe Media who oversaw the acquisition, added: “We have long been admirers of the New Milton Advertiser and the Lymington Times.
“They are both wonderfully traditional newspapers that will fit well into the portfolio of titles published by Iliffe Media.”
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The Advertiser and Times have 25 staff working across them.
James Gurney, managing director of publisher Iliffe News and Media’s central division, will oversee the New Milton publishing division.
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