Northcliffe Newspapers will not be sold off by its owners, Daily Mail and General Trust.

Despite being put up for sale and having three firm offers received, the company felt that offers were low because of current market conditions, and did not fully reflect the long term value of the business.

The board had wanted to find out if greater shareholder value could be achieved by selling the company - for an estimated £1.3bn - rather than through annual profits of some £100m.

A stock market statement this morning said: "Consequently, the board has decided to retain Northcliffe.

"It firmly believes that Northcliffe has valuable long term franchises which will continue to play a vital role in their local communities.

"Having compared the value that others have put on the business with the value to DMGT of Northcliffe in a restructured format, the board is clear that the decision to retain Northcliffe will deliver greater value to shareholders than a sale in the current trading conditions."

The board of DMGT announced on November 30 that it had been conducting a strategic review of its regional newspaper division.

The strategic review has continued since that announcement and has encompassed the assessment of the value to DMGT of restructuring Northcliffe (including the Aim Higher initiative) and a process to establish whether greater shareholder value could be generated by a sale of Northcliffe.

The board has now concluded the strategic review, which has identified further significant cost and revenue opportunities, in addition to the Aim Higher programme.

According to the statement, these further improvements are already being implemented and the board's confidence in the prospects for Northcliffe has risen.