AddThis SmartLayers

Record profits for regional newspaper firm

Tindle Newspapers has announced record profits for the year ending on March 31 – breaking the £5m barrier for the first time.

The regional newspaper operator, based in Surrey, has titles all over the country and recently launched several new papers, bringing the total to 128.

The £5.3m profit figure does not include profit from the company’s seven radio stations, which are now under a separate operating company.

Company chairman Sir Ray Tindle told executives that in view of the uncertainties in the economy and the newspaper industry over the last 12 months, the increase was “extraordinarily good”, and that some papers had excelled themselves in what had not been an easy year.

Circulation had also risen, with the overall figure reaching 585,997, another company record.

Sir Ray felt the outlook was rosy for the regional press, and forecast another good year for the company.

He said: “I’ve been in weeklies for 55 years and for most of that time weekly newspapers did not rank very high in the media of the country.

“Now, almost 1,200 papers within the total of 1,300 in the UK are weeklies, having a joint rising circulation of 31,000,000. Today we are more highly regarded than ever before.”

Among individual newspaper series, the Axminster-based Devon, Dorset and Somerset series had gone from strength to strength with ad revenue growth of 43 per cent and strong circulation increases.

The Forest of Dean Review had seen overall revenue growth of nine per cent, and was continuing to build its market share.

And the Farnham Herald Series had seen an 8.1 per cent increase in total revenue.

  • Tindle Newspapers was started with the £300 given to Sir Ray when he left the Army in 1947. He has built much of his success from buying small, failing local titles and turning them to profit. He began in 1950 when a printers’ strike led him to try different aspects of newspaper production – and decided he wanted to run some of his own.

    Do you have a story about the regional press? Ring 0116 227 3122/3121,
    or e-mail [email protected]

    Back to the Analysis index


    ©NEP 2003