A WEST WALES based newspaper group is to invest £1.5m in the next twelve months, creating up to 10 new jobs while safeguarding a further 25 full-time positions.
The good news comes as the Herald group of newspapers, based in Milford Haven, Pembrokeshire, secured significant new investment to secure its future.
The cash injection will also see a relaunch of Herald Newspapers’ three print titles, The Pembrokeshire Herald, Carmarthenshire Herald and Llanelli Herald, as well as it’s news sites which include the Ceredigion Herald and the new Swansea Herald – which is currently under development.
The firm has faced “considerable financial challenges” over the last two years following the closure of one of its print titles, The Ceredigion Herald, under a previous owner, Managing Director David Lee confirmed.
A small number staff and freelancers were left unpaid when Megagroup Newspapers went into liquidation in January 2017 – some of those have now been repaid, with others set to receive their remuneration shortly.
Most of the original management and staff – a twenty-five strong team continued to work on Herald titles under the ownership of Herald Newspapers plc – and kept the three of the four newspaper titles in print during corporate restructuring.
David Lee said that keeping the Herald titles going following the closure of The Ceredigion Herald had been a ‘near impossible task’.
Editorial controls were also not tight enough for a fourth title – leading to the conviction of Group Editor Tom Sinclair for putting the identity of the victim of a sexual offence at risk, and for naming a 17-year-old fisherman who crashed his boat – also unlawful.
Mr Lee said: “Launching a fourth print title, The Ceredigion Herald, was a bridge too far” for MegaGroup Newspapers – and losses started to mount quickly – almost bringing the other three titles down with it .
“The new investment –a significant amount – will secure the future of the Herald print tiles for the next two years, whilst we move our business model towards a digital offering.
“It will also allow us to invest in recruiting more journalists, increasing the speed and scope of our news coverage.”
The newspapers’ future was secured by its sale to private investors based both in the UK and overseas.
The new investment vehicle for The Herald titles is Herald News International Inc., a new company incorporated in the United States last month, due to one of the major investors – an Omani – having significant holdings there.
David Lee added: “Our commitment is to provide a truly local news service to west Wales. “While a lot of the news about local newspapers is all doom and gloom, HNI has seen something in The Herald’s brand worth investing in.
“This is very good news for the region and a sign that local news is not dead.”
