DMGT has agreed to buy the newspaper assets of Hill Brothers Group for an undisclosed amount. The group is awaiting approval from the Department of Trade and Industry before the deal can go through, but it is not expecting any problems.
The deal would see Northcliffe take up assets worth around £350,000, including the Leek Post & Times, the Cheadle Post & Times and the Uttoxeter Post & Times, three paid-for weekly newspapers, as well as free weekly newspapers in Congleton and Biddulph, eight monthly titles in Cheshire and a weekly property guide.
Northcliffe owns 85 regional titles across the UK, mainly in the north of Scotland, Humberside & Lincolnshire, East Midlands, West Midlands, Gloucestershire, South Wales, Avon & Somerset, the South West and the South East. Among the titles it publishes are the Gloucester Citizen, Hull Daily Mail and the Aberdeen Press & Journal.
Trinity Mirror recently cancelled a deal to sell eight of its local newspapers to Johnston Press, after the Competition Commission ruled that the sale of four of the titles would give Johnston monopolies on advertising in certain regions.
While operating at the less glamorous end of the publishing world, advertising revenues at local newspapers have proven to be more resilient to the downturn than at their national counterparts.
The Leek Post & Times was first published as the Leek Times in 1870. The present owners include members of the family that has owned the title since 1900. They have agreed the sale to Northcliffe, subject to approval.
Shares in DMGT were down along with other London media stocks after morning trading, recording a 4% decline to trade at 654.5p.
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