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Bedfordshire on Sunday bought by owners of Cambridge Evening News

The owners of the Cambridge Evening News and the Burton Mail have added to their portfolio by buying Bedford-based LSN Media Ltd.

The moves means Iliffe News and Media now owns Bedfordshire on Sunday, MK News, Luton on Sunday, Dunstable on Sunday, Leighton Buzzard on Sunday and Hertfordshire on Sunday.

It makes Iliffe one of the ten largest regional press publishers in the UK and the fourth largest independent regional publisher.

David Fordham, group publishing director of Yattendon Investment Trust, of which Iliffe is a subsidiary, said: “For some time we have been looking at opportunities to expand the range of newspaper titles we publish.

“With our existing media interests in Cambridge and Hertfordshire, the acquisition of LSN Media is a logical extension of our existing activities and provides an excellent fit with our other publications.”

LSN Media was founded by Frank Branston in 1977 and was formerly known as Local Sunday Newspapers. It had a total group distribution of almost 350,000 copies per week.

Mike Richardson who has been chief executive of LSN Media since 2000 will continue to head up the LSN business in the position of managing director.

Iliffe News and Media comprises of three regional newspaper publishing companies, Cambridge Newspapers, Herts & Essex Newspapers and Staffordshire Newspapers, and is the major shareholder of Channel Television.

As well as publishing two evening newspapers, it also owns six paid-for weekly newspapers, 17 free newspapers, nine monthly glossy magazines and 23 related websites together with a number of specialist niche titles.

With a combined circulation and distribution of almost 850,000 copies per week, the portfolio of titles extends throughout Cambridgeshire, Suffolk, Essex, Hertfordshire, Staffordshire and Derbyshire.