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| Independent and Independent on Sunday print closures confirmed | |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| Evgeny Lebedev has confirmed that the Independent and Independent on Sunday will cease printing, with the last editions to be published in late March. | |
| Lebedev, who also confirmed the sale of the cut-price national stablemate i to Johnston Press, did not reveal how many of the 150 full-time staff would lose their jobs. | |
| Related: Independent closure: Evgeny Lebedev's letter to staff | |
| The last issue of the Independent is expected to be published on 26 March, with the last issue of the Independent on Sunday on 20 March. | The last issue of the Independent is expected to be published on 26 March, with the last issue of the Independent on Sunday on 20 March. |
| Lebedev attempted to position the closure of the 30-year old Independent as a bold transition to a digital-only future. | |
| “The newspaper industry is changing, and that change is being driven by readers,” said Lebedev. “They’re showing us that the future is digital. This decision preserves the Independent brand and allows us to continue to invest in the high quality editorial content that is attracting more and more readers to our online platforms.” | |
| Lebedev said that his family has invested heavily in its British media assets – well over £100m up until the end of September 2014, £65m of that on the Independent titles – and that the digital transition would secure the title’s future. | |
| “The Independent has always been a pioneering newspaper with a track record of innovation,” he said. “It has a proud heritage as Britain’s first truly independent national quality title. My family bought and invested heavily in the Independent because we believe in world-class quality journalism, and this move secures the future of these vitally important editorial values.” | |
| The publisher said that newspaper’s website, which has 58 million monthly readers, is already profitable and is expected to see revenues grow 50% this year. | |
| ESI Media, the parent company of the titles as well as of the Evening Standard and TV station London Live, said that it will create 25 new digital content roles in the first move to focus on building independent.co.uk into an international digital news brand. | |
| The publisher said that it will also launch a new subscription mobile app. | |
| “Following this decisive move to digital, we will be as focused and uncompromised as any start-up, but with all the authority and trust of an established newsbrand – a truly unique proposition,” said Steve Auckland, group chief executive at ESI. “We now have a clear and secure future path for our businesses.” | |
| Lebedev said that the business will continue to “invest in quality journalism” opening new editorial bureaux in Europe, the Middle East and Asia, as well as an expansion of the US operation. | |
| “There will be some redundancies among editorial employees,” the company said. “The number of roles affected will be confirmed following a consultation period.” | |
| It is expected that about 20 to 40 staff will move to Johnston Press, the owner of the Scotsman which has acquired the i for £25m. | |
| Oliver Duff, the editor of the i, tweeted that the 40p newspaper would expand to 51 staff in total. It is currently thought to employ about a dozen editorial staff. | |
| Significant recruitment to new i editorial team over coming weeks. Appointments to 51 roles (2/4) | |
| The company said that the closure of the titles has “no bearing” on the status of the Evening Standard, which is 25% owned by Daily Mail parent DMGT, which “continues as a profitable and successful newspaper brand in its own right”. | |
| The publisher, which did not comment on the future of loss-making TV station London Live, said that the Evening Standard made a profit of £5m last year. |