Tindle increases stake in publishing rival Johnston Press

Sir Rady Tindle has increased his stake in rival regional newspaper publisher Johnston Press for the third time in three months.

The Guardian reports owner Sir Ray Tindle has raised his stake from 6.36 per cent to 7.17 per cent, which consolidates his position as the company’s third-largest shareholder behind Malaysian billionaire Ananda Krishnan’s PanOcean Management (20 per cent) and investment company Orbis Holdings (10.7 per cent).

Tindle upped its stake in Johnston Press in August to 4.36 and a month later this rose to 6.36 per cent.

In an interview with The Times (behind paywall) that month he said:

My opinion is that newspapers are undervalued at the moment. I know that people out in the sticks still by their local papers.

He also insisted that a small upturn in the economy would put the business ‘back on the straight and narrow”, adding: ‘They are undervalued, so I decided to buy,”

Tindle said he is not interested in a takeover of Johnston.

Yesterday his company launched a new weekly paid-for title, the Chepstow Review.