By Dominic Ponsford
The editor of a proposed new free business daily for London is
embarking on a headhunting mission for key editorial jobs over the next
few weeks.
Former Sunday Express business editor David Parsley has the top
editorial job at London Business Daily and former vice-president of
global sales at Metro International, Lawson Muncaster, is in charge of
the commercial side.
Parsley told Press Gazette: “I’m delighted
to have been appointed as editor of this extremely exciting project and
am relishing the challenge.
“I’ve already recruited some
excellent staff and will be filling the remaining vacancies over the
coming weeks. Then it’s all about the launch and we’ll be working
extremely hard to ensure we provide the London business community with
the kind of paper they want as well as giving them a few must-read
surprises.”
According to Muncaster, the company has initial
funding from Scottish institutions and is now looking for more cash
from venture capitalists.
He said: “London’s business community
has never been fully catered for. By launching London Business Daily at
the end of this year, we aim to fill this gap in the market.”
The
title is likely to be the second free daily to launch in London within
the next six months. In April, the Office of Fair Trading ruled that a
free afternoon paper could be distributed in racks used by Associated
Newspapersowned morning free Metro at London rail and Underground
stations.
Among those companies to have expressed an interest in
publishing the afternoon title are Associated Newspapers, Guardian
Newspapers and News International. Muncaster’s old company Metro
International, which publishes 57 editions of its Metro across the
world, is also thought to be interested.
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