Northcliffe becomes official owner of Nottingham and Long Eaton Topper

Northcliffe Media today became the official owner of the Nottingham and Long Eaton Topper.

The proposed acquisition of the paper was given the go-ahead by the Office of Fair Trading on 1 June.

The regional publisher announced its intention to buy the Nottingham and Long Eaton Topper last summer, but as it already owns the daily Nottingham Post the bid was referred to the OFT.

It found that while the acquisition would give Northcliffe a ‘high combined share’of local news in the region there was ‘sufficient evidence that other competitive restraints would protect customers from price increases or reductions in quality”.

Northclife chief executive Steve Auckland commented:

This is our first acquisition since I joined the company and demonstrates Northcliffe’s desire to grow its businesses. The Topper is a great free newspaper and we’re really pleased to have its team working with us.

Steve Hollingsworth, publisher for Northcliffe subsidiary the Nottingham Post Media Group, added:

I’m delighted that this protracted deal has been completed. I look forward to working closely with Alice and the team.

Alice Hall, MD of the Nottingham and Long Eaton Topper said:

This is an exciting step for the Topper. As part of a larger group we will have more opportunities to serve the Nottingham business community and to operate as a modern media business.