TCH break into British market with The Irish Post

By Conor Keane, Business Correspondent

The Irish Post, a tabloid founded in 1970, with an ABC circulation of 31,400 is best categorised as an Irish provincial newspaper serving the Irish diaspora in the 33nd county - Britain.

Thomas Crosbie Holdings managing director Anthony Dinan would not disclose the price earnings ratio but did disclose that it was less that 10:1.

This indicates that The Irish Post was making profits of more than €260,000. This has to be considered a bargain basement price for TCH.

Independent News and Media, owners of the Irish Independent, recently sold-off 45 local titles in the greater London area for €65m, close to 20 times earnings.

“Yes, it was a real bargain but then again it is not everyone that it would suit. I don’t think any of the UK operators had any interest in it,” added Mr Dinan.

The Irish Post was sold by the Jefferson Smurfit Group, who are selling off non-core businesses following privatisation.

The Irish Post serves Britain’s Irish communities especially in the cities of Liverpool, London, Manchester, Birmingham and Glasgow, providing its readers with news from Ireland. It is supported by advertising mainly from Irish-based companies, according to TCH.

TCH 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, the Irish Examiner and the Sunday Business Post, and its ten regional papers, operating across the South, West and North of Ireland.

“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.”

“We look forward to working together with the management and staff to realise the paper's potential for further growth and development,” he said.

The purchase of The Irish Post, which is subject to regulatory approval, is the seventh acquisition of a newspaper title by TCH in just three years, the most significant being The Sunday Business Post.

The Crosbie family owned group is Ireland's fastest growing media company.

The group's newspaper titles include: the flagship Irish Examiner, The Sunday Business Post, the Evening Echo (Cork and Limerick), Newry Democrat, Down Democrat, The Kingdom (Kerry), Waterford News and Star, Sligo Weekender, Western People (Mayo), The Nationalist & Leinster Times (Carlow), Kildare Nationalist and Laois Nationalist.