Alec Davidson has resigned as managing director of Northcliffe Newspapers with immediate effect.

He has been replaced by Kevin Beatty, from Associated Newspapers.

He has a strong background in the provincial press and has been heading up Associated’s new media operations at the London headquarters.

DMGT finance director Peter Williams said: “DMGT and Alec have mutually agreed it is time for a change.

“We are very grateful for his years as managing director of Northcliffe.

“The regional press is at a point in its history where there is perhaps a new vision coming through. It’s got an exciting future.”

Kevin Beatty, (43), was previously managing director of the Evening Standard and Metro and is a former MD of the Scottish Daily Record and Sunday Mail.

Prior to that he was involved in circulation, marketing and management at the Belfast Telegraph, Teesside Evening Gazette and Newcastle Chronicle and Journal.

Alec Davidson became MD when Ian Park stepped down in 1995.

He joined the group in 1984 to become deputy MD in 1989.

Prior to that his senior positions at Northcliffe included MD at the Western Times in Devon and Western Morning News.

Northcliffe Newspapers is one of the largest regional newspaper publishers in the UK. Its daily titles have a combined sale of over 1m copies a day and its paid-for weeklies sell in excess of 450,000 copies.

Each week the group also distributes 2.6m copies of its free newspapers.

The company’s figures show that of the 22.5 per cent of the UK adult population which has access to a Northcliffe title, seven out of ten read them each week.

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