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London Lite (defunct)

The London Lite was an evening freesheet tabloid newspaper distributed in central London (London Transport’s Zone 1, main stations in Zone 2 and the DLR) from Mondays to Fridays via railway stations, street stands and various other pickup points.

It was founded in December 2004 by Associated Newspapers (part of the Daily Mail & General Trust), who were then the owners of the Evening Standard, as the Standard Lite, in a move to boost circulation of the Standard.

It changed its name to London Lite in August 2006, a move widely taken as a spoiler – the name change came just before News International’s The London Paper was launched in September of that year. However, in the following two-and-a-half years the Standard‘s sales figures suffered, to the point where a majority holding of its shares (75.1 per cent) was sold to Russian newspaper proprietor Aleksandr Lebedev in January 2009. Associated Newspapers retained full control of the London Lite.

As the name implies, the content was relatively lightweight – celebrity news abounded, as did entertainment listings.

It closed in November 2009, following the closing of The London Paper and the decision in October by the London Evening Standard‘s owners to make it a freesheet.