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The launch of a Sunday Star is said to have been on the agenda of Richard Desmond since his Northern & Shell operation acquired Express Newspapers from Lord Hollick's United News & Media in 2000. Many observers dismissed the project as unworkable in the current market situation and attention recently focused on the possibility of Desmond acquiring the Sunday People from Trinity Mirror and using this as a launch pad for the Sunday Star.

However, the performance of the Daily Star under its editor, Peter Hill, has persuaded N&S management that the paper has the momentum to go it alone on Sundays. The Daily Star's average net circulation for the September to February period was up 12.83 per cent year on year to 617,242 in the UK. Significantly, the paper's Saturday edition, which had previously under-performed, has shown strong signs of growth in recent months, encouraging the impression that a Sunday paper could work.

The launch of the Sunday Star will be the second Sunday initiative from Express Newspapers this year. The publisher is also in the advanced stages of preparation for the launch of a male-oriented Sunday Express supplement, to complement S magazine, next month.

The new magazine will be similar in format to Night & Day, the lifestyle supplement of the Sunday Express' rival, The Mail on Sunday, and will aim to provide a suitable environment for advertisers not drawn to S magazine's female subject matter.

"There are a number of exciting developments in line for our titles and we shall be announcing them in more detail at the appropriate time,

a spokeswoman said.

Production of the new Sunday titles will be handled at the West Ferry printing plant, which remains part-owned by Express Newspapers after an Appeal Court ruling this week. The court ruled that too much time had elapsed for Hollinger to complete a buyout of the Express Newspapers stake and ordered the return of Express representatives to the West Ferry board.

News of the two Sunday launches coincides with the appointment of the former marketing manager of The Sun, Roland Agambar, to fill the vacant marketing director post at Express Newspapers. Express Newspapers is understood to have had discussions with creative agencies recently about its advertising account, which is currently handled in-house.