Standard owner Alexander Lebedev runs out of cash

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May 08, 2009

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Standard owner Alexander Lebedev runs out of cash

LONDON - Alexander Lebedev, the billionaire Russian owner of the Evening Standard, has been forced to delay paying staff on his Russian newspaper Novaya Gazeta, after he temporarily ran out of money.

Lebedev said yesterday that he would delay paying 120 journalists on the paper "for a week" because of business problems at the German airline he owns, Blue Wings.

The financial problems are not expected to affect the Evening Standard, which is gearing up for a relaunch on 11 May.

Lebedev bought the Standard in January for £1 from the Daily Mail & General Trust and has since hired a new editor, Georgie Greig, and launched a high-profile advertising campaign apologising to Londoners for the paper's past performance.

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