Firm claims €1.5m hole over tender

PUBLICATIONS distributor Newspread has taken a legal challenge to a “flawed” and “unfair” tendering process under which its contract to distribute Ireland on Sunday newspaper and Buy & Sell magazine was terminated, resulting in lost profits of more than €1.5 million.

Newspread claims Associated Newspapers Ltd operated an unfair and arbitrary tendering process and has also made wrongful use of Newspread’s customer database following the termination of the commercial relationship between the companies.

Associated purportedly terminated, from August 2006, agreements under which Newspread had acted as distributor of the newspaper and Buy & Sell from 1992 and 2001.