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Final edition of The London Paper Final edition of The London Paper
(about 1 hour later)
The freesheet The London Paper will be given away for the last time on Friday.The freesheet The London Paper will be given away for the last time on Friday.
Publisher News International (NI) said last month that publication was to end after it recorded pre-tax losses of £12.9m in the year to June 29, 2008. The paper's closure was announced last month by New International after it recorded pre-tax losses of £12.9m.
The evening paper was first distributed in September 2006 and had a circulation of 500,348 in July. The evening paper was launched on 4 September 2006, four days after the Associated Newspapers's free paper London Lite hit the streets.
It was dubbed the battle of the freesheets as publishers targeted young commuters who access news on websites and do not expect to pay for a paper.
London now has three free papers. The Metro and City AM which are distributed in the morning and the London Lite.
Fallen short
News Corporation, News International's parent company, said the paper's performance had fallen short of expectations.News Corporation, News International's parent company, said the paper's performance had fallen short of expectations.
James Murdoch, chairman and chief executive of Europe and Asia for News Corporation, said NI wanted to concentrate on its main publications - The Sun, The Times, the News Of The World and The Sunday Times.James Murdoch, chairman and chief executive of Europe and Asia for News Corporation, said NI wanted to concentrate on its main publications - The Sun, The Times, the News Of The World and The Sunday Times.
Dwindling advertising
NI began The London Paper initially as a rival to the paid-for Evening Standard, but Associated Newspapers, the then-publishers of the Standard, responded by publishing their own freesheet, the London Lite.
Media analyst Lorna Tilbian said there was only room for one free evening newspaper in London and that it was much closer to the core business of Associated Newspapers than it was to News International.Media analyst Lorna Tilbian said there was only room for one free evening newspaper in London and that it was much closer to the core business of Associated Newspapers than it was to News International.
International ratings agency Fitch has predicted more newspapers will close amid dwindling advertising revenues. In July The London Paper, which was handed out outside Tube stations by vendors wearing distinctive purple uniforms, had a circulation of 500,348.
"The closure of thelondonpaper... is a sign of the extreme steps ad-funded media companies are having to take to protect their margins in the current environment," Fitch said. Tough decision
"The current extraordinary market conditions are forcing parts of the UK newspaper industry to take steps they would never previously have entertained, including taking a cold, hard look at the viability of all their titles." But Mr Murdoch said: "The team at The London Paper has made great strides in a short space of time with innovative design and a fresh approach but the performance of the business, in a difficult free evening newspaper sector, has fallen short of expectations.
NI's Mr Murdoch said: "The strategy at News International over the past 18 months has been to streamline our operations and focus investment on our core titles.
"The team at The London Paper has made great strides in a short space of time with innovative design and a fresh approach but the performance of the business, in a difficult free evening newspaper sector, has fallen short of expectations.
"We have taken a tough decision that reflects our priorities as a business.""We have taken a tough decision that reflects our priorities as a business."
Westminster City Council had threatened legal action against the distributors of the papers after the papers created four tonnes of waste a day.
The two publishers agreed to meet some of the costs and put in measures to tackle the problem.