Sale of the Observer to Tortoise Media approved by the boards of the Scott Trust and Guardian Media Group
The Scott Trust will invest in Tortoise Media, becoming a key shareholder
The Trust will take a seat on both the editorial and commercial boards of Tortoise Media
Deal will see £25m new investment in the Observer, with a commitment to print on a Sunday and a plan to build it into a digital brand
The Scott Trust joins new and existing investors committed for the long term.
The boards of the Guardian Media Group and its owner, the Scott Trust, have in principle approved the sale of the Observer to Tortoise Media.
The new ownership model will protect the Observer’s future, championing the voice of liberal values and investing in exceptional journalism while building its digital offering.
As part of the deal, the Scott Trust will invest in Tortoise Media and become one of its largest shareholders. The Scott Trust will take a place on both the company’s board, chaired by Matthew Barzun, President Obama’s ambassador to the UK, and its independent editorial board, chaired by Sir Richard Lambert, the former editor of the Financial Times.
Tortoise Media has committed to safeguard journalistic freedom and the editorial independence of the Observer, undertaking to honour the liberal values and journalistic standards of the Scott Trust in their editorial code.
Taken together, these measures will ensure that the core values and principles of the Scott Trust are upheld under the new ownership structure.
It is expected the deal will be signed in the coming days.
Ole Jacob Sunde, chair of the Scott Trust, said:
“We knew we needed the right combination of resources and commitment to build a new platform for the Observer. It required an ally to be sufficiently funded, long-term in nature and respect editorial independence and liberal values. I believe we have found this in Tortoise Media. We are looking forward to being part of the next phase in the Observer’s journey.”
Katharine Viner, editor-in-chief of Guardian News & Media, said:
“I recognise how unsettling this period has been for Observer staff, but we’re confident we have agreed the best possible way forward for the title’s journalists, its readers and the future of both the Observer and the Guardian. It is a model that will see investment in journalism and journalists, enshrines the Scott Trust’s values in the Observer’s future, and protects the Observer and Guardian’s ability to continue to produce trusted, liberal journalism.”
Charles Gurassa, chair of the Guardian Media Group board, said:
“This is an important new chapter for the Observer, giving it access to much needed investment, enabling it to build a long overdue digital presence and ensuring it the top-level management support and focus necessary for it to flourish. For the Guardian, it means we can double down on our long-term growth strategy, as we continue to expand globally and across digital and other media channels.”
Anna Bateson, chief executive of Guardian Media Group, said:
“This investment will preserve the Observer’s 233-year legacy and protect the paper’s future, ensuring it can continue producing exceptional liberal journalism, online and in print, for years to come. Underpinning it all will be a continued commitment to promoting a free press and maintaining editorial independence.
The deal also supports the long-term success of the Guardian, building on our growth globally and across digital, as we continue to put readers at the heart of our outstanding journalism.”
About the Scott Trust Ltd
The ultimate owner of the Guardian is the Scott Trust, which was originally created as a trust in 1936 to safeguard the title’s journalistic freedom. In 2008 it was replaced by a limited company with the same core purpose as the original trust: to secure the financial and editorial independence of the Guardian in perpetuity, while its subsidiary aims are to champion its principles and to promote freedom of the press in the UK and elsewhere. Other than to cover expenses, the Scott Trust takes no dividend from the Group’s businesses, whose profits are instead reinvested to sustain journalism that is free from commercial or political interference.
About the Guardian Media Group
Guardian Media Group is amongst the world’s leading media organisations. Its core business is Guardian News & Media (GNM), publisher of theguardian.com, one of the largest English-speaking quality news websites in the world.
In the UK, Guardian Media Group publishes the Guardian newspaper six days a week, first published in 1821, and the world’s oldest Sunday newspaper, The Observer. Since launching its US and Australian digital editions in 2011 and 2013, respectively, traffic from outside of the UK now represents around two-thirds of the Guardian’s total digital audience. The Guardian also has an international digital edition and a new European edition that launched in 2023.
