Beleaguered British newspaper Sunday Business – recently saved from closure by a last-minute deal with the Press Association [WAMN: 28-Nov-01] – will relaunch on January 6 with a new name and a new price.
After a two-week Christmas hiatus, the title will hit newsstands on Sundays and Mondays as The Business, with its current cover price of £1 slashed by half. The relaunch will be supported by a TV, press and outdoor ad campaign.
Readers can expect a leaner offering, with the colour supplement scrapped and the current three sections reduced to one.
The PA deal, the result of a scramble to find new investors after the paper’s owners – the reclusive Barclay twins – threatened it with closure, sees production shift to the PA offices in Victoria, with the loss of up to twelve staff.
Andrew Neil remains in control as editor-in-chief, while Richard Northedge (currently deputy editor) and Iain Watson (former City editor of the Sunday Telegraph) take day-to-day charge as executive editors.
Under the new regime, the cash-burning title – which posted full-year losses of £7.8 million – will focus more on business analysis and less on general news. It will also take non-business stories from PA.
News source: CampaignLive (UK)
