The owners of the Times, Sun, Daily Mail and i newspapers are to combine their printing operations amid declining daily sales in a cost-cutting move that could affect hundreds of jobs.
The move by Rupert Murdoch’s News UK and Lord Rothermere’s Daily Mail & General Trust (DMGT), which will potentially lead to the closure of printing sites at Thurrock in Essex and Dinnington near Sheffield, will result in all national newspaper printing being handled by only two conglomerates.
The new joint-venture will print titles including the Telegraph, Evening Standard and Financial Times, which shut its own presses last year, as well as Metro, titles for the regional publisher Newsquest, New Scientist and John Lewis.
The plan will reduce the number of national newspaper printing operators to two – the other being the Mirror and Express owner, Reach, which also prints titles including the Guardian – and is expected to spark an investigation by the Competition and Markets Authority.
News UK and DMGT said that consolidation was essential, with national newspaper sales declining by more than 60% over the last decade, amid soaring inflation in the cost of paper and labour. The companies hope to “establish a sustainable business model for the future of national newspaper printing in the UK”.
Darren Barker, the managing director of Newsprinters UK, the News UK-owned printing operation that will take over all printing except DMGT’s remaining site in Northern Ireland, said: “The reality is that print readership has been in decline for some years now, and the sector has come under increasing pressure to better align capacity with demand.”
After the launch of the joint-venture, titles will be printed at News UK-owned sites at Broxbourne in Hertfordshire, Knowsley in Merseyside and Eurocentral near Glasgow.
The two companies said the plan would be subject to consultation on jobs. Under employment contract law, the potential closure of the two DMGT sites is likely to involve the offer of roles at other sites, although given the geographic spread of the remaining sites, it is likely to be difficult for many staff to consider a move.
“We are aware this will be an uncertain time for those potentially impacted and our priority is to provide staff with the support they need throughout this process,” said Julia Palmer-Poucher, the group production director at DMG Media Group, the media subsidiary of DMGT. “This proposed combination would provide a long-term solution for the Mail print titles. We must find ways to keep physical newspapers, which have an important future, commercially viable.”
The two companies moved to allay concerns that the joint-venture might be a precursor to a wider merger of the two businesses, which would be blocked by the CMA given the scale News UK and DMGT have in the UK national newspaper market.
“The [joint-venture] is limited to the parties’ printing operations and does not represent closer working between News UK and DMG Media on media, editorial or commercial activities,” the companies said.
Last month, Rupert Murdoch announced he was standing down as chair of his media empire, with his eldest son, Lachlan, taking over day-to-day control.
However, Murdoch still controls the family trust, which in turn controls the newspaper operation of News Corporation, and Fox, and will continue to call the shots on major decisions.
The News UK and DMGT venture comes three months after the closure of one of the last two large-scale magazine printing plants in the UK, which has left all bar one of the UK’s top-selling magazines printed by one company.
