Family-owned publisher NWN Media has added to its growing portfolio by buying two free weekly titles from Northcliffe Media.

The Hereford Admag and Shrewsbury Admag have been purchased by the Mold-based group, which publishes daily title The Leader and 11 weekly titles in Wales, Shropshire and Cheshire.

The transfer of ownership has taken place this week and the titles, which have a combined distribution of more than 100,000 copies a week, will now be printed in Deeside.

However the new owners say they are committed to keeping the Admags’ existing staff and local offices in Hereford and Shrewsbury.

NWN Media’s managing director David Faulkner, pictured above, said: “We are really delighted with this acquisition. The Admags fit perfectly in the geography of titles we already publish and bring additional strong brands into our newspaper group.

“As well as providing excellent opportunities for advertisers in their own right, with our ownership the titles will also offer great new selling platforms when paired with some of our current titles such as the County Times, Border Counties Advertizer or the Whitchurch Herald.

“As a company we are very keen to expand into new markets wherever possible and see this acquisition as an outstanding growth opportunity.

“The titles are an excellent strategic fit with the rest of our portfolio, extending the boundaries of our current group. We are pleased to be in a position to continue to expand in this way, even in the current tough economic climate.”

NWN Media’s purchase of the titles comes after it saved the Whitchurch Herald from closure in 2009 when it bought the paper from Trinity Mirror.

Mr Faulkner added: “We will examine all suitable opportunities to grow NWN Media’s portfolio in the future wherever possible.”