A bid to launch a new newspaper for a city has raised tens of thousands of pounds.

The Exeter Observer, currently an online-only title, is running an investment drive with the hope of launching in print by raising £75,000 from readers buying shares in the company.

It is hoped the campaign will enable the Observer to launch as a 16-page monthly title in print, with the potential to increase to a 24-page fortnightly publication at a later date.

The company is also pursuing the possibility of becoming the UK’s first public interest journalism publisher to gain charitable status as part of its expansion plan. So far, more than £41,000 has been raised towards the target.

The Observer, a member of the Independent Community News Network, was founded in 2019 by editor and director Martin Redfern, with community and culture editor Leigh Curtis and contributing editor Peter Cleasby.

The cathedral city is also served by weekly paper Exeter Express & Echo and its Reach plc sister website Devon Live.

Explaining its plan in a proposal aimed at potential shareholders, the Observer said: “Our overarching aim is to build on the foundation of a comprehensive local public interest news service by expanding our coverage across a range of options to publish a regular print edition.

“Achieving this would be expected to drive more rapid growth than digital-only delivery because of the wider range of readers it would reach, particularly those with lower levels of digital literacy, and the trust created by complementary print and online distribution.

“This would initially take the form of a 16-page monthly with the potential to increase to a 24-page fortnightly. Print distribution is facilitated by Exeter’s compact city centre. Pick-up points would be used to deliver half the run with the rest distributed door to door and via highway handouts at key locations.

“Exeter Observer’s digital distribution would be reciprocally reinforced by an accompanying print publication: the combination of the two would extend the reach and impact of both.

“Print publication also lends itself to the exploration of complex issues from multiple angles with effective use of graphics and double page spreads.”

Those interested must make a minimum investment of £500 before the 18 June deadline.

As of Monday, 21 investors had pledged a total of £41,050 to the project.

Editor Martin Redfern told HTFP: “To our knowledge, Exeter Observer is the only news publisher in the country that is both community-owned and financed by community share investment.

“We raised £50,000 this way in 2021 and have so far raised £42,000 of our £75,000 community share investment target this year.

“Our community investors benefit from 50% tax relief via HMRC’s Seed Enterprise Investment Scheme, which enables them to claim back half their investment while keeping all their shares.

“Exeter Observer’s non-profit community-owned business model is what enables us to publish the independent public interest journalism Exeter needs.”