Newsquest snaps up Romanes Media Group for undisclosed sum
Newsquest Media Group has acquired local news publishing business Romanes Media Group, which owns 32 newspaper titles, for an undisclosed sum.
The move will see the local news group’s portfolio, which includes a daily paper, 19 weekly paid-for titles and nine weekly freesheets and associated websites, join Newsquest’s 200-strong newspaper stable.
Romanes Media Group, founded in 1859 by the Romanes family, has 270 staff and operates in Scotland, Berkshire and Northern Ireland. Its local news brands include the Greenock Telegraph, the Dunfermline Press, the East Lothian Courier, the Reading Chronicle, and the Impartial Reporter.
Henry Faure Walker, chief executive of Newsquest said: “Newsquest is focused on building one of the leading local multi-media publishing businesses in the UK, and I am delighted to welcome Romanes Media Group to the company. We operate in separate markets but this portfolio of good quality weekly titles provides a strong fit with plenty of opportunity.”
There will also be no redundancies made as part of the buyout. "All Romanes employees continue to be employed by Romanes Media Group, which becomes a subsidiary of the wider Newsquest group," Walker added.
Newsquest owns more than 150 brands across the UK publishing online, on mobile and in print, and claims more than 20 million monthly visitors and 6.5 million readers weekly print readers.
Its news brands include The Northern Echo (Darlington), Telegraph & Argus (Bradford), Southern Daily Echo (Southampton), Swindon Advertiser, Lancashire Telegraph (Blackburn) The Argus (Brighton), The Press (York), Oxford Mail, Worcester News and South