Trinity Mirror chief executive Sly Bailey met with investor Tweedy Browne, which holds 6% of the company, last week. It had been pushing for a sale of the Daily Mirror, but after meeting with Bailey it backed the new chief executive's plan to turn around Trinity Mirror, according to a report in the Financial Times.
Previously, Tweedy Browne had arguing that the three national newspaper titles should be sold off, because there were no synergies between those titles and the regional newspapers.
Trinity Mirror executives have repeatedly resisted calls for the company to be broken up and focus on the more profitable regional titles. The case in favour goes that, although prestigious, the national titles drag down the performance of the much better-performing regional newspapers.
According to the FT, Bailey's plan to turn the group around, which was announced in July, was given the thumbs up.
Bailey said her strategy for Trinity Mirror will focus on unlocking "its hidden potential for growth". Key to that is pushing for higher profitability. She has already announced 550 job cuts and that the group's titles in Northern Ireland are to be sold.
Thomas Shrager, a managing partner at Tweedy Browne, told the FT he was encouraged by the recent improvement in the Daily Mirror.
In the most recent newspaper ABCs, sales of the Daily Mirror climbed back above the 2m mark for August following the paper's exclusive Tony Martin interview, the cause celebre farmer jailed for shooting two burglars at his farm.
"I was quite sceptical, but I believe Ms Bailey is doing everything by the book. The general appearance of the Mirror has been more fun. She went and talked to lapsed readers and asked why they had stopped buying the paper," Shrager said.
The Daily Mirror suffered a loss of readers as it piled on political coverage and was hostile to the war in Iraq.
Trinity Mirror has received a number of approaches about selling its three UK national titles, which also include the Sunday Mirror and The People, including an offer from venture capital firms Apex Venture Partners and Candover Partners, but the board rejected their bid of 450p a share as too low.
When asked recently whether she would sell the national titles, Bailey said the board would keep an open mind about any possible bids.
"We're here for the shareholders. The board regularly reviews the best way to do that, operationally and structurally," she said.
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