Martin Clarke, roving executive at Associated, is overseeing the project. Clarke was launch editor of the Standard Lite and most recently oversaw the creation of The Irish Daily Mail and Ireland on Sunday.
The move – designed to protect sales of the Evening Standard, which has a circulation of just more than 300,000 copies – could see the Standard Lite scrapped to make way for an entertainment-driven, free afternoon paper.
The Evening Standard will remain paid-for, and may even increase its price. It currently stands at 40p.
Although introducing a third brand into the market might confuse readers, Associated wants to frustrate NI's efforts to take ad revenue from the Standard.
Thelondonpaper hits the streets on 18 September. Distributors will hand out 400,000 copies in Zone 1. Associated's freesheet is likely to appear at the same time and will also be distributed by hand.
The Evening Standard's recently announced change of edition times, which come into effect in September, would create a slot for the new paper to be printed. The mid-morning West End edition will be scrapped, leaving a gap between the 9.00am and 2pm editions.
The name ‘London Lite' was registered at the patent office last year by an Associated employee, most probably in preparation for the company's bid for the right to distribute an afternoon freesheet on the London Underground and at mainline London stations.
News International accelerated the race to create an afternoon freesheet when it decided earlier this year not to wait for the Tube and rail distribution contracts to be awarded before launching its own title.
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