Southwest News buys Scottish agency group Hard Edge Media

The UK’s biggest independent news agency, Southwest News Service, has taken over Hard Edge Media, owner of a string of Scottish news agencies.

The Bristol-based agency, which already has offices in Bristol, Plymouth, Leamington Spa and owns Masons News Service in Cambridge, took over Hard Edge in January but the deal has only just come to light.

Terms of the takeover were not disclosed.

Southwest will now run Hard Edge, which operates the Northscot, CentrePress and Capital Press agencies in Aberdeen, Glasgow and Edinburgh, respectively, as a subsidary company, according to Allmediascotland.

Andy Young, managing director of SWNS, told allmediascotland.com: ‘We are currently interviewing for news and photographic staff to reinforce the existing teams.

‘There will be no changes to key personnel with Peter Steele [Hard Edge founder] remaining on the board of HEMedia to oversee the operation.

‘We hope to rely on his vast experience and reputation for as long as he is available to us.”