Newspaper publisher Trinity Mirror is handing back four of the eight regional franchises it operates for the Metro newspaper.

Daily Mail owner DMGT launched the original Metro in London in 1999 and localised versions have since been established in 14 other cities.

Until now, Trinity Mirror has operated eight of these regional franchises – in Birmingham, Bristol, Cardiff, the East Midlands, Scotland, Liverpool, Manchester and Newcastle.

Now it has announced it is handing the Bristol, Cardiff, East Midlands and Scotland franchises back to DMGT with effect from 1 January, while retaining the other four.

It is understood that the decision was made on the grounds of profitability.   No jobs are to be lost as a result of the change.

It will be up to DMGT to decide whether to continue to publish the four regional editions that TM is relinquishing.

Trinity Mirror said in a statement: “Trinity Mirror has confirmed that it will be handing back to DMGT four of the eight regional Metro franchises they currently operate in Scotland, Cardiff, Bristol and East Midlands, effective 1st January 2017.

“Trinity Mirror will continue to operate Metro in the remaining regions of Manchester, Liverpool, Newcastle and Birmingham.”

Other regional Metro franchises include Brighton, Leeds, Norwich and Sheffield.