The only hope to save the paper is for a buyer to be found. Talks with a number of potential buyers are believed to be ongoing.
It was reported last week that although a sale is now the most likely way forward, owners the Barclays brothers would still like to retain an interest in the paper.
The brothers have invested around £30m in the paper and have said they would "prefer to remain involved", but it is thought that their continued involvement is dependent on a new investor emerging. The brothers have appointed investment bank Investec to help find new investors.
The paper has been making heavy losses since the Barclays relaunched it in 1998 and it is on course to lose around £9m this year. The paper has been suffering a circulation slide in recent months and has seen its sales fall from a high of 72,000 in February 2000 to its current October ABC figure of 60,284.
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