The business editor of three sister dailies is leaving journalism after 32 years.

Darren Slade, who is group business editor at the Bournemouth Echo, Dorset Echo and Southern Daily Echo, has announced he is leaving their publisher Newsquest for a new role, according to Dorset Biz News.

Darren, pictured, will join cloud accounting software provider iplicit as content manager and his new job will involve planning and creating material such as blogs, white papers, research papers and interactive content.

During his career, he has served as the Bournemouth Echo’s local government correspondent, chief reporter and business and technology editor.

The 55-year-old, who will leave Newsquest on 3 March, took on his most recent role in 2019.

Darren said: “It was a huge decision to leave the news business after more than three decades and I can’t think of many jobs that would have tempted me away from it.

“I’d been aware of the success of iplicit since its launch in 2019.

“Two of the driving forces behind it were local entrepreneurs who’d both created sizable businesses from Bournemouth start-ups in the past.

“When speaking with CEO Lyndon Stickley, who had been behind the explosive growth of 4-Sight in the 1990s – a Bournemouth-based start-up that became an industry standard throughout 30 countries before being acquired – I realised that iplicit was already on a similar track.

“Four years on, not only is iplicit living into its potential but the opportunity has exploded; the advent of Covid, the need for cloud software and the stagnation that is apparent in many of the incumbents all present an opportunity to build a multi-billion pound organisation.

“Being in charge of content production for an opportunity this huge was something I couldn’t resist.

“I’ve loved my time in newsrooms and will always be grateful for the opportunities the industry has given me and for the many brilliant colleagues I’ve worked with.

“Now, I’m hugely excited to be embarking on the next phase of my career with a company that’s on an incredible growth trajectory.”