Local World

Recent developments

Its origins can be said to lie in part in DMGT’s decision to sell Northcliffe Media, having previously attempted to do so in 2005 but failed to find a buyer for the entire group. Northcliffe’s failure to sell nine of its Kent titles to the KM Group in 2011 after the deal was blocked by the Competition Commission may have played a part in this decision.

In any event, Local World was launched in November 2012 by David Montgomery, a former chief executive of the Mirror Group and a former editor of the News of the World; Steve Auckland, Northcliffe Media’s chief executive; and Rachel Addison, Northcliffe’s Executive Director of Finance and Operations.

There are three major industry shareholders. In return for relinquishing all of Northcliffe Media’s UK newspapers and websites, DMGT acquired a 38.7 per cent shareholding in the group, plus £52.5 million, much of which will apparently be put towards pensions. The Yattendon Group, owners of Iliffe News & Media, likewise acquired a 21.3 per cent shareholding in return for handing over Iliffe’s titles and websites. Trinity Mirror is the third; it has acquired a 20 per cent shareholding. Other shareholders for the remaining 20 per cent include the Artefact Group (an investment fund associated with Lord Ashcroft) and Odey Asset Management.

With the transfer of Northcliffe Media and Iliffe News & Media’s titles completed by early January, the new group has a portfolio of 107 print publications, with its newspapers reaching 6.1 million readers a week. This immediately made it the fourth largest publisher of regional and local newspapers in the UK. The portfolio includes several prestigious local titles including the Cambridge News, the Leicester Mercury and the Western Daily Press.

The new group has moved from Northcliffe’s headquarters in Knightsbridge in central London to Leicester.

In April 2013 Local World started a process of launching “publisher-branded” websites for its newspapers to run in parallel with the existing thisis….co.uk and …people.co.uk portal websites set up by Northcliffe. The look of these new websites appeared set to be imported into the Iliffe newspapers too, with the Ely Weekly News receiving a new URL as well as a new site.

Divisions

Regional

(all part of Northcliffe Media unless otherwise stated)

Wales

• South West Wales Media

England: Yorkshire

• Mail News & Media

England: West Midlands

• Central Independent Newspapers
• Staffordshire Newspapers
  (part of Iliffe News & Media Central)
• Staffordshire Sentinel News & Media

England: East Midlands

• Derby Telegraph Media Group
• Grimsby & Scunthorpe Media Group
• Leicester Mercury Group
• Lincolnshire Media
• Nottingham Post Group

England: East of England

• Cambridge Newspapers
  (part of Iliffe News & Media East)
• Essex Chronicle Media Group
• Herts & Essex Newspapers
  (part of Iliffe News & Media East)
• LSN Media
  (part of Iliffe News & Media Central)

England: South West

• Bath News & Media
• Bristol News & Media
• Cornwall & Devon Media
• Express & Echo News & Media
• Gloucestershire Media
• Mid Somerset News & Media
• South West Media Group
• Western Gazette Co.

England: South East & London

• Courier Media Group
• East Surrey & Sussex News & Media
• Kent Regional News & Media

Local World’s newspapers listed alphabetically