Page 466 - The Case Lab Book

‘Life is Local’

(Johnston Press Moto)

In 1978 the Falkirk-based Johnston Press (JP) acquired
Yorkshire Weekly Newspaper Group (YWNG), and took its first

steps on the road to expansion through acquisition which

would lead it to become one of the UK’s largest publishers of

local and regional newspapers. In 1988 JP was listed on the
London Stock Exchange and from then until the 2008

recession regularly announced yearly operating profits in

excess of 30 per cent.

The history of JP is mirrored in its purchase of The Scotsman, a

newspaper that opened in Scotland in 1817 and acquired by JP

in 2005. The Scotsman was part of The Scotsman Publications

Ltd., and was sold to JP for £160 million in cash by Sir David and
Sir Frederick Barclay who had bought it in 1995 for £85 million.

The Barclay’s also owned the Telegraph Group through their

Press Holdings Group, which in turn had been the vehicle for
owning The Scotsman Publications Ltd.

The sale comprised The Scotsman, Scotland’s national

newspaper and its sister titles, Scotland on Sunday, Edinburgh