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April 6, 2017

Guardian doesn’t rule out possible move to Manchester where paper first published

By Freddy Mayhew

The Guardian hasn’t ruled out a touted move back to Manchester, where the paper was first established and published in 1821.

A report in the Times yesterday quoted sources saying the title was “actively considering” the move and that it was being discussed at “top secret” talks held by senior executives.

The paper is currently based in Kings Cross, London, having moved to the capital in the early 1960s.

A Guardian spokesperson told Press Gazette: “We are always looking at ways to reduce our cost base, including where different functions are located, but we have no plans to leave Kings Place at present.”

Guardian News and Media is on course to hit a target of cutting 100 editorial jobs under a three-year cost-saving scheme which was launched just over a year ago under editor Katherine Viner.

Parent company Guardian Media Group made an operating loss of £69m for the year to the end of March 2016. A target has been set hit break-even within the next two years.

Former culture secretary John Whittingdale told the Times that the touted move was “a further demonstration of the financial pressures that newspapers are now under”.

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He said: “The Guardian is going through a very difficult time and while it may save them cash it will do nothing to address the wider changes affecting all newspapers, with advertising going to Google and Facebook.”

It is thought executives could be considering a move to Media Village in Salford, where the BBC has established its new headquarters. ITV has also located hundreds of staff at the media hub on the outskirts of Manchester.

Channel 4 may also be moving out of the capital after it was proposed by culture secretary Karen Bradley last month.

Cuts made by the Guardian have so far resulted in 250 redundancies. Staff were told last month to “anticipate” further job losses in the UK.

Last week, its former foreign correspondent Maggie O’Kane and music editor Michael Hann left the paper under an ongoing voluntary redundancy scheme.

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