SBP to seek up to 25 voluntary redundancies

The Sunday Business Post newspaper is to seek up to 25 redundancies by the end of the year as part of a cost-saving restructuring plan, a court has been told.

The title, which employs 76 people and has a readership of 140,000, is being sold as part of a complex overhaul of the ownership and financial affairs of parent company Thomas Crosbie Holdings Limited (TCH).

The Commercial Court in Dublin appointed an interim examiner to protect the publication, which recorded a €1.2m loss at the end of January.

Mr Justice Peter Kelly was told it would be near fatal for the paper if it did not print a newspaper this weekend.

The court was told that the company behind the production of the newspaper, Post Publications Ltd, was looking to reduce costs on three fronts: rent, payroll and printing.

When questioned by the judge, Garvan Corkery, junior counsel for the company, said that management were looking for 20 to 25 voluntary redundancies by the end of the year.