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This article is more than 1 year old

The owner of the Mirror newspaper group has sealed a £200m deal with Richard Desmond to buy his Express and Star national titles, as well as the celebrity magazine OK!

Trinity Mirror, the publisher of the Labour-supporting Daily and Sunday Mirror as well as the Sunday People, has paid £126.7m for Desmond’s Brexit-supporting titles. The company has also agreed to invest £70.4m in staff pension schemes through to 2027.

The company’s share price surged nearly 15% in early trading, with investors buoyed by the financial benefits and cost saving opportunities of one of the most significant mergers among British national newspapers in decades.

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Simon Fox, the chief executive of Trinity Mirror, said the five national newspapers would remain editorially independent.



“The Mirror is not going to go right-wing and the Express is not going to go leftwing,” he told the Guardian. “They will absolutely all have editorial independence. Decisions on what goes into each title will be entirely down to the editors.”

However, Trinity Mirror wants to make £20m in annual savings, with £9.3m from “content generation”. This will mean job cuts, the pooling of some editorial resources and considering the viability of magazines such as New and Star.

Fox gave the example of creating a single sports team to serve all the papers, although in areas such as politics the teams would remain separate.

“Rather than sending many reporters to cover the same football games, we can cover more games, more sports and offer deeper and wider content,” he said. “Then it will be down to the editors as to what content they want to use.”

Canary Wharf-based Trinity Mirror does not have the capacity for the estimated 900 new staff (about 350 editorial) in its offices, and has agreed a 10-year lease, with a five-year break clause, to continue to use part of Northern & Shell’s Lower Thames Street offices.

Fox said no decisions had been made about the movement of staff between the sites.

He added that he did not expect the enlarged group to run foul of the competition regulator. Fox said the combined circulation of Trinity Mirror’s national titles would still be less than that of the Sun, and similarly they would not control too much of the national newspaper ad market. Enders Analysis says that the Competition Markets Authority will scrutinise the deal.

As part of the deal, Desmond will receive 25m Trinity Mirror shares, worth about £20m, giving him a 9.4% stake and making him the third-largest shareholder.

Desmond is known for his outspoken views, but Fox said he did not expect any problems.

“I have no reason to believe he will be anything other than a supportive shareholder,” he said. “He didn’t want a seat on the board, none of our shareholders have one … He wants skin in the game and believes very much in the group.”

The deal marks the end of the billionaire’s 43-year publishing career, which he acknowledged in an internal email announcing the deal to staff.

Desmond said he remained a “great believer” in the titles and that Trinity Mirror was the “perfect home to make the most of their potential”.



Under the deal, Desmond, who still owns businesses including the Health Lottery, has agreed to spend £32m over the next five years on advertising in Trinity Mirror titles. As the owner of Northern & Shell, Desmond will pocket most of the £106.7m cash portion of the deal.

Desmond started in publishing in 1974, aged 23, with two music titles. In 1983, he won the UK licence to publish Penthouse and then several other pornographic titles, including Horny Housewives. The launch of OK! in 1993 shook up the celebrity magazine world. In 2000, Desmond bought Express Newspapers for £125m.

Trinity Mirror, which owns a large regional newspaper portfolio including the Manchester Evening News and Birmingham Post, employs more than 5,300 staff. About 2,200 are in editorial; 700 on the national titles and 1,500 on the regionals.

The deal still needs approval from Trinity Mirror shareholders, who will vote on it in the next two weeks.

Newspaper circulations for Trinity Mirror and Northern & Shell’s national titles in December, according to ABC’s monthly newsbrands report:

Daily Mirror 581,877

Sunday Mirror 493,069

Sunday People 191,188

Daily Express 364,933

Sunday Express 317,893

Daily Star 391,509

Daily Star Sunday 239,853</s>Newspaper publisher Trinity Mirror has agreed a £126.7 million deal to buy a string of Northern & Shell titles including the Daily Express and Daily Star.

The deal will see the publisher of the Daily Mirror snap up national newspaper titles the Daily Express, Sunday Express, Daily Star and Daily Star Sunday and three celebrity magazines OK!, New! and Star.

It will also hold a 50 per cent slice of the Irish Daily Star.

Simon Fox, Trinity Mirror chief executive, said: "This deal is a really exciting moment in Trinity Mirror's history, combining some of the most iconic titles in the UK media industry.

"It is good for our readers, good for our customers and good for our shareholders.

"Northern & Shell's titles have a large and loyal readership, a growing digital presence and a stable revenue mix and offer an excellent fit with Trinity Mirror."

Northern & Shell chairman Richard Desmond said: "The Express Newspapers and our celebrity magazine titles have been a key part of the Northern & Shell portfolio for many years, and I am immensely proud of building them into one of the largest newspaper and magazine groups in the UK.

"Today's transformational transaction is a logical and natural next step in the evolution and consolidation of the media sector and will create a larger and stronger platform serving all stakeholders.

"In Trinity Mirror we have a great partner, who will be an excellent steward of the business going forward and I am delighted to be able to retain an ongoing interest in the combined group."</s>The publisher of the Daily Mirror newspaper has struck a £126.7 million deal to buy a string of titles from Richard Desmond's media empire, including the Daily Express, the Daily Star and OK! magazine.

The purchase will mark the end of Mr Desmond's 18 years as a UK newspaper owner.

Trinity Mirror will pay an initial £47.7 million to Northern & Shell for the publishing rights, followed by £59 million between 2020 and 2023 and a further £20 million in shares to the privately-owned firm.

The move will bring together politically left-leaning titles like the Sunday Mirror, with more right-wing publications such as the Sunday Express.

Trinity Mirror chief executive Simon Fox has ruled out change in editorial tone across the major titles, but said it would spark £20 million a year in cost savings which will lead to job losses.

Mr Fox said: "The titles have separate editors and they know their readers best and have full control over the content - that will not change.

"The Mirror won't become right wing and the Express won't be turning left wing, that would be absolutely ridiculous for us to do that. "

As part of the deal, Trinity Mirror will seize control of Daily Star Sunday, celebrity magazines New! and Star, and a 50% slice of the Irish Daily Star.</s>The publisher of the Daily Mirror newspaper has struck a deal to buy billionaire Richard Desmond's media assets, including the Daily Express.

The move marks a major shake-up of Britain's media landscape, and here we answer the big questions surrounding the deal.

What does the deal look like?

Trinity Mirror will pay Â£126.7m (â¬143.8m) to buy a string of titles from Northern & Shell, including the Daily Express, the Sunday Express, Daily Star and Daily Star Sunday, as well as three celebrity magazines, OK!, New!, and Star.

It will also pick up Northern & Shell's 50% joint venture interest in the Irish Daily Star, alongside a print plant in Luton.

Once complete, the deal will see Trinity become a British media powerhouse.

It already owns titles such as the Daily Mirror, Sunday Mirror, Sunday People, Daily Record and Sunday Mail, plus more than 200 local newspapers, including the Manchester Evening News, Liverpool Echo, Birmingham Mail and Bristol Post.

More and more people are reading their news online rather than in printed form, so advertisers have also increasingly shifted their focus and budgets to websites.

As newspaper circulations have shrunk, so has print advertising as a revenue stream, leading to more investment in online operations across the industry.

To illustrate the point, the Express.co.uk and Dailystar.co.uk websites achieved 280 million page views in December 2017 compared with 649 million for the Trinity Mirror websites.

But the industry is also divided between publishers who think charging readers for online content is the way to go, and those that favour giving it away for free.

Consolidation is also another way to combat declining advertising revenue, with the Trinity deal set to herald cost savings of Â£20m (â¬22.7m) a year by 2020 and a shared cut of a larger advertising pool.

The deal is likely to mean job cuts.

What about the political aspects of the deal?

A tie-up between the left-leaning Mirror and the Brexit-backing Express has raised eyebrows, but Trinity boss Simon Fox has signalled that the newspaper's respective editorial positions will not change overnight.

Whilst acknowledging the two businesses have different editorial positions, Mr Fox said these "will be retained".

What now for Richard Desmond?

The deal will see the conclusion of billionaire Richard Desmond's 17 years of newspaper ownership.

The tycoon acquired the Express titles in 2000 for Â£125m (â¬141m), after which he added Channel 5 to his stable of media assets.

In 2015, he offloaded Channel 5 to MTV owner Viacom for Â£463m (â¬525m), with Northern & Shell booking a handsome Â£359m (â¬407m) profit on the sale.

Mr Desmond also owns and operates the British Health Lottery, which aims to raise funds for good causes, and it has been reported that he may be looking to win the licence to run the UK's National Lottery.</s>The publisher of the Daily Mirror newspaper has struck a £126.7 million deal to buy a string of titles from Northern & Shell, including the Daily Express, the Daily Star and OK! magazine.

Trinity Mirror will stump up an initial payment of £47.7 million, followed by £59 million between 2020 and 2023 and a further £20 million by issuing 25.8 million shares to Northern & Shell priced at 10p each.

The move marks a major shake-up of Britain’s media landscape, bringing together the politically left-leaning Sunday Mirror, with more right-wing publications such as the Sunday Express.

The deal will also see Trinity Mirror seize control of Daily Star Sunday, celebrity magazines New! and Star, and a 50% slice of the Irish Daily Star.

Northern & Shell is owned by Richard Desmond, who acquired the Express titles in 2000 for £125 million.

Trinity Mirror chief executive Simon Fox said: “This deal is a really exciting moment in Trinity Mirror’s history, combining some of the most iconic titles in the UK media industry.

“It is good for our readers, good for our customers and good for our shareholders.

“Northern & Shell’s titles have a large and loyal readership, a growing digital presence and a stable revenue mix and offer an excellent fit with Trinity Mirror.”

Trinity Mirror will also shift £41.2 million to the Northern & Shell pension scheme and make further payments of £29.2 million as part of the scheme’s recovery plan.

The print media industry is grappling with a decline in advertising and any combination could herald cost savings and a shared cut of a larger advertising pool.

Mr Desmond, chairman of Northern & Shell, said: “The Express newspapers and our celebrity magazine titles have been a key part of the Northern & Shell portfolio for many years, and I am immensely proud of building them into one of the largest newspaper and magazine groups in the UK.

“Today’s transformational transaction is a logical and natural next step in the evolution and consolidation of the media sector and will create a larger and stronger platform serving all stakeholders.

“In Trinity Mirror we have a great partner, who will be an excellent steward of the business going forward, and I am delighted to be able to retain an ongoing interest in the combined group.”</s>The publisher of the Daily Mirror newspaper has struck a £126.7 million deal to buy a string of titles from Richard Desmond’s media empire, including the Daily Express, the Daily Star and OK! magazine.

Trinity Mirror will stump up an initial payment of £47.7 million to Northern & Shell, followed by £59 million between 2020 and 2023 and a further £20 million in shares to the privately-owned firm.

The move marks a major shake-up of Britain’s media landscape, bringing together politically left-leaning titles like the Sunday Mirror, with more right-wing publications such as the Sunday Express.

As part of the deal, Trinity Mirror will seize control of Daily Star Sunday, celebrity magazines New! and Star, and a 50% slice of the Irish Daily Star.

Trinity Mirror chief executive Simon Fox has ruled out a shift in editorial tone across the major titles, but said it would spark £20 million a year in cost savings which will lead to job losses.

Speaking to the Press Association, Mr Fox said: “The titles have separate editors and they know their readers best and have full control over the content – that will not change.

“The Mirror won’t become right wing and the Express won’t be turning left wing, that would be absolutely ridiculous for us to do that. ”

Mr Fox said a chunk of the cost savings would come from sharing stories across titles, with the same sport and features content being used in both the Daily Mirror and the Daily Express.

However, he said it would be “entirely inappropriate” to take the same approach with the newspapers’ political teams.

Focusing on cost savings, he said: “There will changes to both businesses over time and what we will do, as we did when we brought Local World, is to look to remove duplication.

“That’s why we are stronger together than we are separate. Both organisations have finance teams, HR, newspaper sales, marketing and so on.

“Therefore, there will be consequences for a number of jobs, but it is far too early to work out exactly how many.”

He said the changes would hit the “production side and potentially the creation side”, but stressed that both organisations would have “bigger teams” going forward.

Mr Desmond acquired the Express titles in 2000 for £125 million but the industry has had to grapple with sliding advertising revenues.

Circulation of the flagship titles have also come under pressure, with the Daily Express and Daily Star falling 6.8% and 11.1% respectively in December.

Major newspaper organisations have been attempting to offset falling advertising revenues in print by raking in more money from online adverts.

The Express.co.uk and the Dailystar.co.uk recorded 280 million page views in December, with Trinity Mirror securing 649 million across its websites and apps.

He said: “(It is) a logical and natural next step in the evolution and consolidation of the media sector and will create a larger and stronger platform serving all stakeholders.

“In Trinity Mirror we have a great partner, who will be an excellent steward of the business going forward, and I am delighted to be able to retain an ongoing interest in the combined group.”

Alongside the publications, Northern & Shell’s Luton printing press will fall into Trinity Mirror’s hands, if the deal wins backing from shareholders and competition regulators.

Trinity Mirror has five printing plants across the country producing its own titles, and printing for news organisations such as the Guardian and Scotsman owner Johnston Press.

Mr Fox said the deal could also lead to “efficiencies” on the print production side of the business.

The group, which owns regional titles such as the Manchester Evening News and the Liverpool Echo, said it will shift more than £70 million into the Northern & Shell pension scheme following the tie-up.

Northern & Shell has also agreed to lease out space to Trinity Mirror at its headquarters in Lower Thames Street, London, where the Express and Star teams will remain.

Shares in Trinity Mirror rose more than 7% in morning trading on the London Stock Exchange.</s>Trinity Mirror has agreed a £126.7m deal to buy a portfolio of titles from Richard Desmond’s Northern & Shell, including the Daily Express and the Daily Star.

The Daily Mirror publisher will also make a one-off cash payment of £41.2m to Northern & Shell’s pension schemes as part of the deal and takes a 50 per cent stake in the Irish Daily Star.

Northern & Shell chairman Desmond described it as a “transformational transaction” and “a logical and natural next step in the evolution and consolidation of the media sector”.

In total, the deal includes four national newspaper titles – the two dailies as well as the Sunday Express and the Daily Star Sunday – and celebrity magazines Ok!, New!, and Star, as well as their associated websites.

The deal is expected to be completed by 28 February, pending approval by shareholders who have been recommended to pass it.

Trinity Mirror chief executive Simon Fox said: “This deal is a really exciting moment in Trinity Mirror’s history, combining some of the most iconic titles in the UK media industry.

“It is good for our readers, good for our customers and good for our shareholders.

“Northern and Shell’s titles have a large and loyal readership, a growing digital presence and a stable revenue mix and offer an excellent fit with Trinity Mirror.”

Trinity Mirror has said the acquisition will deliver £20m in cost savings by 2020, largely through reduced duplication and improved content sharing.

Fox told the BBC: “There will over time be job cuts, because we are going to remove duplication, mainly in back offices functions. We are bringing two very similar businesses together and when you do that, inevitably there is a certain amount of duplication.”

He said, however, that the publisher’s more than 100 regional newspaper titles will not be affected by the deal, adding: “Trinity Mirror, as a group, makes over £120m and we are absolutely committed to continuing our investment in our great regional titles both in print and digitally”

The Daily Express and Daily Star newspapers have a combined daily circulation of more than 750,000, although Fox acnowledged that circulation figures were “under pressure”.

He said: “That’s exactly why consolidation is a necessary part of our strategy and we have always said that we will be stronger by being bigger, we will be stronger by coming together.”

He added: “From the journalism perspective, by pooling our resources, instead of, for example, sending two reporters from two titles to the same football game, we can send them to two different games and get more breadth of coverage.”

He said that editorial decisions would be left “entirely in the hands” of editors and that the titles would retain their editorial independence, adding: “The Daily Express is not going to become left-wing, the Mirror is not going to become right-wing.”

The Express.co.uk and Dailystar.co.uk websites achieved 280m page views in December 2017 compared to 649m for Trinity Mirror websites (excluding apps and galleries).

Following the buyout, the new group will have a combined digital audience of 234m monthly unique browsers (excluding apps), Trinity Mirror has said.

Northern & Shell’s titles were said to have “performed well in 2017 despite continued pressure on its print advertising revenues” with total revenues (after separation adjustments) estimated to have “marginally increased” for the year, according to a statement announcing the deal.

Northern & Shell’s adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (after separation adjustments) is estimated to be about £34m.

Desmond said: “The Express Newspapers and our celebrity magazine titles have been a key part of the Northern & Shell portfolio for many years, and I am immensely proud of building them into one of the largest newspaper and magazine groups in the UK.

“Today’s transformational transaction is a logical and natural next step in the evolution and consolidation of the media sector and will create a larger and stronger platform serving all stakeholders.

“In Trinity Mirror we have a great partner, who will be an excellent steward of the business going forward and I am delighted to be able to retain an ongoing interest in the combined group.”

Trinity Mirror’s board has said the acquisition of Northern & Shell titles will “create a media business of scale” to better serve readers and advertisers.

It said this would allow the group to “improve its print and digital editorial propositions by reducing duplication, sharing content and widening the breadth of editorial coverage with larger combined teams”.

It said the deal is “financially compelling” and will “deliver attractive returns to shareholders” as the enlarged group will “have a more robust revenue mix” and “less reliance on print advertising”.

Desmond will continue to be a 10 per cent shareholder in the group, but Fox told the BBC he would have “no ongoing involvement in the business” other than that and no say on editorial matters.

Trinity Mirror settled a phone-hacking claim with Hugh Grant on Monday, apologising for intercepting the actor’s voicemails and procuring private information about him over a ten-year period. Grant received a six-figure sum in damages.

Fox told the BBC that this illegal activity was “fortunately long in the past” but that it had been a “dark period” in the publisher’s history.

He said: “I’m pleased to say the editorial standards today are completely different to what they were some time ago. I wasn’t part of the company then. The consequences are clear. We are working our way towards the end of the civil cases.”</s>The Daily Mirror’s owner is buying the Daily Express and Daily Star for £127m.

Trinity Mirror will take over all Northern & Shell’s publishing assets, including celebrity magazines OK!, New! and Star.

The deal was struck after months of talks, with negotiations drawn-out by haggling over pensions.

Richard Desmond, who bought the Daily Express and Sunday Express from United News & Media in 2000 for £125m, will get a 10 per cent stake in the new company.

The 66-year-old, who has amassed a £2.5bn fortune, said the deal between the groups ‘is a logical and natural next step in the evolution and consolidation of the media sector’.

Desmond, who left school at 15, added: ‘In Trinity Mirror, we have a great partner, who will be an excellent steward of the business going forward.’

Trinity Mirror, which owns the Daily Mirror, Sunday Mirror, Sunday People, Daily Record and regional newspapers, said it expected to make savings of £20m a year through the deal.

It agreed to make a one-off payment of £41.2m to Northern & Shell’s pension fund as part of the agreement.

Trinity Mirror’s chief executive Simon Fox said: ‘Northern & Shell’s titles have a large and loyal readership, a growing digital presence and a stable revenue mix, and offer an excellent fit with Trinity Mirror.’

Trinity shares closed up 9.6 per cent, or 6.7p, at 76.5p.</s>The publisher of Britain’s left-wing Daily Mirror newspaper struck a £126.7 million deal on Friday to buy a series of titles including the right-wing Daily Express in a bid to stem a decline in advertising revenues and sales.

The papers were the biggest two in Britain after World War II but are both seeing big drops in circulation, according to the latest figures.

The £126.7 million ($176 million, 143.6 million) deal signals a major consolidation for a sector that is struggling against falling revenues in Britain.

The Daily Mirror had a daily circulation of around 580,000 in December 2017, a drop of 18.84 percent since the same month in 2016, while the Daily Express fell to around 364,000 — a decline of 6.82 percent.

Speaking to BBC radio, Simon Fox, chief executive of publisher Trinity Mirror, said the deal would lead to cost savings as the titles could now pool their resources.

But he pledged they would retain their identities: “The Daily Express is not going to become left-wing and the Mirror is not going to become right-wing.”

The Daily Express is strongly pro-Brexit, while the Daily Mirror advocated a vote to stay in the European Union in the run-up to the EU referendum in 2016.

The Express typically provides its loyal band of older readers with front pages focusing on arthritis, diabetes and blood pressure cure speculation; the weather; the EU, and immigration.

Trinity Mirror’s share price was up 6.5 percent at around 1000 GMT following the announcement.

The titles of Daily Express owner Northern and Shell “have a large and loyal readership, a growing digital presence and a stable revenue mix,” he said.

He said the purchase was “good for our readers, good for our customers and good for our shareholders”.

The group also owns the Sunday Express, Daily Star and Daily Star Sunday tabloids and three celebrity magazines, OK!, New! and Star.

The deal effectively marks the end of Northern and Shell chairman Richard Desmond’s publishing career.

Desmond started in publishing in 1974 with two music titles but became better known for his ownership of several pornographic titles including the UK licence to publish Penthouse magazine, which he bought in 1983.

Desmond said the deal was “a logical and natural next step in the evolution and consolidation of the media sector and will create a larger and stronger platform serving all stakeholders”.

The Sun remains Britain’s top-selling daily with a circulation of 1.48 million, followed by the Daily Mail on 1.39 million.</s>LONDON — As the tabloids might say: Trinity Mirror in Daily Express Shock!

Trinity Mirror, which publishes The Daily Mirror, said on Friday that it had agreed to acquire the print assets of the Northern & Shell Media Group, which publishes The Daily Express, in a deal that would bring together news outlets on opposite ends of the political spectrum and shake up Britain’s fiercely competitive newspaper market.

The deal is valued at 126.7 million pounds, or about $176 million. Assuming it goes through, Trinity Mirror’s holdings will run the political gamut, from The Daily Mirror, the best-selling newspaper in Britain on the left, to The Daily Express on the right.

Trinity Mirror publishes more than 150 newspapers in Britain and Ireland, including the Manchester Evening News.The purchase would add a diverse group of other publications to that roster, including the celebrity magazines OK!, New! and Star and the newspapers The Sunday Express, The Daily Star and The Daily Star Sunday.

The deal also clears the way for the exit from the news media industry of Richard Desmond, Northern & Shell’s colorful chairman and founder, a billionaire who made his money in adult and celebrity magazines.

Simon Fox, the Trinity Mirror chief executive, said in a statement that the deal would benefit readers and shareholders, adding that Northern & Shell’s titles would bring his company “a large and loyal readership, a growing digital presence and a stable revenue mix.”
Trinity Mirror agrees to buy British publishing group Northern & Shell from Richard Desmond for £126.7 million. The deal gives Trinity Mirror ownership of the Daily Express and Daily Star newspapers.