The owner of a UK regional daily has bought a premium motoring platform.

Mediahuis, which publishes the Belfast Telegraph, has announced the purchase of Carzone, which allows users to buy and sell new and used cars across the Republic of Ireland.

Launched in 1998, Carzone has been part of the Auto Trader Group for almost 20 years.

It will be brought into the existing Mediahuis Irish Marketplaces division, alongside motor industry site Carsireland and vehicle data and analytics platform Cartell.ie.

Xavier van Leeuwe, chief executive of Mediahuis Marketplaces, said: “We are delighted to welcome the Carzone team into the Mediahuis group.

“The Carzone brand has a long-standing and incredible track record in the Irish automotive space.

“The culture of excellence of its employees is a significant addition to the expertise within our group. Adding to our existing CarsIreland.ie and Cartell.ie brands, Mediahuis will present an unrivalled offering to the entire Irish motor industry, manufacturers, retailers and consumers alike, allowing us to build the business that will lead the industry in years to come.”

Nathan Coe, CEO of Auto Trader, added: “Carzone has been part of the Auto Trader Group for nearly 20 years, and I want to thank the whole Carzone team for their hard work during that time.

“We remain focused on our strategy in the UK, which is to grow our marketplace and establish the products and technology to enable retailers to do more of the car buying journey online, on Auto Trader.”