Around 65 jobs are under threat in Exeter as Northcliffe considers whether to close its printing press in the city.

The group currently has 12 printing plants across the UK, which publish its own titles as well as newspapers and magazines for external customers.

But following the loss of a contract to print the Daily Mail in Plymouth – leaving spare capacity on its presses six days a week – The Northcliffe Press, South West, is now considering moving production of the Express and Echo and other titles, currently printed in Exeter, to Plymouth.

A consultation period with staff is currently underway, and a decision is expected to be made next month.

Tony Grabham, managing director of The Northcliffe Press, South West, told HoldtheFrontPage that the company had been unable to find an external print contract to fill the slot left by the Daily Mail and as a consequence the closure was a possibility.

He said: “There are potentially 65 staff involved, but if we do decide to close it we are hoping that we can move some of them around the group.”

A significant investment in the Plymouth press was made by Northcliffe last year and it is of a higher specification that the 14-year-old Exeter press, offering more colour.

The news of the possible closure follows an earlier announcement by Northcliffe that it has submitted a planning application to North Lincolnshire Council to build a press on an industrial estate at Elsham Wold near Brigg.

If successful the Hull Daily Mail, Lincolnshire Echo, Scunthorpe Telegraph and Grimsby Telegraph would all be printed there and the current printing facilities at Hull, Grimsby and Lincoln would close.