Trinity Mirror has today announced that it has taken complete control of the Fish4 websites after buying out its remaining partner Newsquest.

The Fish4 network of jobs, cars and homes portals was first launched by a consortium of five regional newspaper publishers in what was then seen as a pioneering bid to establish a shared online commercial platform.

Trinity was one of the original partners alongside GMG Regional Media, which it now owns, Newsquest, Northcliffe Media and Regional Independent Media, the former publisher of the Yorkshire Post and Sheffield Star.

RIM was later taken over by Johnston Press, while Northcliffe left the partnership in 2007 to launch its own series of portals, Jobsite, Findaproperty.com and motors.co.uk.

Although Jobsite subsquently became the online recruitment platform for Johnston Press as well as Northcliffe, Fish4jobs still attracts over 3.3m jobseekers every month.

The three sites will now sit alongside the brands in the Trinity Mirror digital classified portfolio including GAAPweb, totallylegal, SecsInTheCity and SmartNewHomes.

Group director of digital publishing David Black said: “Fish4 is an excellent addition to our digital portfolio. The acquisition demonstrates continued progress with our strategy of building a growing digital business of scale, and increasing our share of the online recruitment market.”

Paul Halliwell, managing director of Trinity Mirror digital recruitment and property added: “We have ambitious plans for the future of the Fish4 business.

“Fish4 is a strong brand, to which we will add considerable value for advertisers and consumers alike through our digital recruitment and classifieds expertise.”