TCH acquires The Irish Post

Thomas Crosbie Holdings Limited, Ireland's fastest growing media group, has today acquired The Irish Post from Jefferson Smurfit Group in a deal worth £1.7m (€2.66m).

The acquisition is the first by the group in England and brings the number of newspaper titles to 13.

The deal represents the seventh acquisition of a newspaper title by Thomas Crosbie Holdings in just three years.

The Irish Post was established in 1970. It is a tabloid paper sold in the main British cities that have a resident Irish community including Liverpool, London, Manchester, Birmingham and Glasgow.

The paper, which has an ABC audited circulation of over 31,400 copies, provides its readers with news from Ireland and is supported by advertising mainly from Irish-based companies.

Thomas Crosbie Holdings will look to grow the Irish Post by adding value to it through the combination of the resources of the group's newly established national advertising team and by sourcing content from its two national papers (Irish Examiner and Sunday Business Post) and 10 regional papers which operate across the island of Ireland.

Commenting on the acquisition Mr Anthony Dinan, Managing Director of Thomas Crosbie Holdings, said: "We are delighted to add The Irish Post to our stable of titles. We believe we can grow the paper and leverage the obvious synergies that exist by marrying our Group resources with The Irish Post's position as an established brand in the British market."

He added: "We look forward to working together with the management and staff to realise the paper's potential for further growth and development."

With regard to possible future acquisitions Mr Dinan said: "We are certainly interested in other media opportunities that we feel we can grow while getting a good return and good value."