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May launch date set for North West Enquirer

A new weekly paper for the North West of England is to hit the streets in May, the publisher announced today.

A seven-figure sum has been raised with the backing of two venture capital firms and a number of private investors for the title, which is to be known as the North West Enquirer.

It will be published midweek, with a cover price of £1 and circulation of up to 20,000.

Businessman Nick Jaspan and journalist Bob Waterhouse are behind the launch, having previously worked together to form Newsco.

Former Trinity Mirror man Stephen Parker is among those to join the board as a non-executive director. He left his role as managing director of Trinity Mirror’s regional newspaper division in July 2004.

The Enquirer will be on sale in an area which takes in Carlisle, north Staffordshire, the Welsh border and the High Peak area of Derbyshire, as well as the major cities of Manchester and Liverpool.

It will have 96 pages, all of which will be colour, and will also have regular 64-page supplements.

A business editor, production editor and picture editor are already in place and the paper will have a total of 35 staff, 17 of which will be journalists. The company chose HoldtheFrontPage to advertise positions across the editorial department.

Nick said: “We had 450 job applications and that is still rising. I think people will be surprised by the quality of the team we will be announcing.”

A lease for offices in the centre of Manchester is due to be signed tomorrow and staff will begin moving in at the end of the month.