News International sell Wapping site in £150m deal Published on Wednesday 30 May 2012 21:36 NEWS International has sold its Wapping site for £150 million, it was announced today. Sale marks "end of an era" for the company, says News International chief executive Tom Mockridge NI transferred to Wapping in 1986, a move credited with transforming newspaper industry The site was bought by St George PLC, part of the Berkeley Group, which plans to develop it into homes, offices, shops and open spaces. The sale marks the "end of an era for the company," News International chief executive Tom Mockridge said today. The company's stable of titles previously relocated to its neighbouring Thomas More Square base, in east London. Parent company News Corporation originally planned to refurbish "Fortress Wapping" in September 2008, creating a "new campus" for its UK businesses, including News International, Harper Collins, MySpace, Dow Jones and Fox. But in September last year News International announced the decision to sell it after a review of its London property portfolio. Today property firm CBRE, which advised in the sale, said St George beat "stiff competition" from UK and overseas developers and investors to buy the site. It plans to develop proposals for a "high quality mixed use, residential led development, incorporating homes, offices, shops and public open spaces." Vacant for two years, Wapping Village has around 1.2million sq ft of redundant buildings associated with the old print works and a cleared car park, CBRE said. Mr Mockridge said: "Moving to Wapping was a pivotal moment in News International's history as it led a pioneering development in newspaper production, and so today's sale marks the end of an era for the company. Our move to Thomas More Square in 2010 has proven equally important; enabling NI to take the same industry-leading approach although this time with the digital revolution. The location of our newsrooms might change but News International's position as a fixture on Britain's media landscape will not. We are situated next to the Wapping site and look forward to the exciting redevelopment of the area by St George. Ross Faragher, managing director of St George PLC, said: "Working with the London Borough of Tower Hamlets and the local communities we plan to create an exciting and attractive place to live and work, a new quarter in Wapping that will revitalise this important area of London. This is our first significant acquisition in Tower Hamlets for many years and St George is delighted to be investing in the borough again. We are looking forward to working with the borough, local communities and businesses on our plans for a high quality mixed use development. News International, which publishes The Times, The Sunday Times and The Sun, transferred to the Wapping site in 1986, a move credited with helping to transform the newspaper industry. The relocation broke the dominance of the print unions and began the mass exodus from Fleet Street. National newspaper groups found they were able to transform labour relations and modern technology was embraced, such as journalists being given computers and the production of full colour editions. The move led to an increase in competition and the creation of new titles, such as The Independent, and changed the way newspapers were printed, with fewer staff needed to operate more efficient machinery.