National World

National World is a British multimedia company. The company was founded as JPIMedia Publishing Ltd in November 2018 following the acquisition of Johnston Press assets by its creditors.[1] JPIMedia was purchased by National World PLC for £10.2 million in January 2021.[2][3][4][5] In April 2022, JPIMedia was rebranded to National World.[6]

National World Publishing Ltd
NationalWorld
FormerlyJPIMedia Ltd
TypePrivate company
IndustryNewspapers
PredecessorJohnston Press (1769–2018)
Founded2018 (2018)
Headquarters70 Gracechurch Street
London, England, UK
Area served
Worldwide
Key people
David Montgomery
ParentNational World PLC
SubsidiariesFull list
Websitewww.nationalworld.com

Its flagship titles include The Scotsman, the Yorkshire Post, the Falkirk Herald and Belfast's The News Letter. The company operates around 200 newspapers and websites around the United Kingdom.[7]

Formation

On 17 November 2018, a spokesperson for Johnston Press announced that all its titles had been transferred to the control of JPIMedia, a special purpose vehicle (SPV), owned by the creditors. Under the terms of the pre-packaged deal, ownership passed to a consortium of four lenders – CarVal, Fidelity, Benefit Street Partners and Goldentree Asset Management – who reduced its debts to £85 million and injected £35 million investment.[1] This however was subject to criticism by Johnston Press's largest shareholder, described as a "blatant pre-planned corporate theft by bondholders", and was raised in Parliament.[8]

2019 asset sales

A syndicate of bondholders led by GoldenTree Asset Management reportedly hired bankers at Stella EOC in May 2019 to establish the basis for a prospective sale of all or a portion of the company.[9]

In July 2019, it was confirmed that a sale process of JPIMedia was taking place.[10][11]

Reach plc were said to be "early stages" of talks to buy "certain assets" from JPI Media.[12] In November 2019, it was announced that the i had been sold to Daily Mail and General Trust.[13]

In February 2020, it was announced that JPIMedia are no longer exploring a sale of their assets excluding the sale of the i which is subject to regulatory approval.[14]

Sale to National World PLC

On 31 December 2020, it was announced that JPIMedia Publishing Ltd and its subsidiaries was being sold to National World PLC on 2 January 2021. The new company was set up by the media executive David Montgomery.[15][16]

Rebranding of JPIMedia to National World

On 29 April 2022, JPIMedia Publishing Ltd rebranded to National World Publishing Ltd, otherwise known as National World.[6]

Operations

Since the acquisition of National World Publishing Ltd, National World Plc has expanded its footprint into all the major metropolitan centres in the UK.[17]

In March 2021, nationalworld.com was launched as new national online news website, also known as NationalWorld.[18] This was followed by the launch of several websites in Manchester, Liverpool, Newcastle, Glasgow, London,[19] Birmingham and Bristol.[17]

NationalWorld owns one of Scotland's national titles, The Scotsman

Newspapers in Great Britain

The following is a partial list of British newspapers owned by the company:[20]

Newspapers in Northern Ireland

National World Publishing Ltd publishes a total of 22 titles in Northern Ireland through two holding companies, JPIMedia NI and Derry Journal Newspapers. The geographic readership of some titles extends across the Irish border into the Republic of Ireland, such as the Derry Journal which also covers County Donegal. Former JPIMedia titles published in the Republic of Ireland now belong to Iconic Newspapers.[20][23]

References
  1. Doward, Jamie (17 November 2018). "Johnston Press: rescue plan for Scotsman newspaper group". The Guardian. Retrieved 18 November 2018.
  2. Casci, Mark (31 December 2020). "Yorkshire Post owner JPIMedia sold to National World for £10.2m". The Yorkshire Post. Retrieved 1 January 2021.
  3. Ponsford, Dominic (31 December 2020). "Monty's back: JPI Media sold to David Montgomery's National World Plc for £10.2m". Press Gazette. Retrieved 1 January 2021.
  4. Sharman, David (31 December 2020). "JPIMedia unveils National World as new owner". Hold the Front Page. Retrieved 1 January 2021.
  5. Symon, Ken (31 December 2020). "The Scotsman publisher sold to veteran industry player's group". Scottish Business Insider. Retrieved 1 January 2021.
  6. Sharman, David (26 April 2022). "JPIMedia renamed National World in 'major rebranding exercise'". HoldtheFrontPage. Retrieved 17 November 2022.
  7. Sweney, Mark (2018-11-16). "Owner of the Scotsman and i newspapers enters administration". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Archived from the original on 2018-12-10. Retrieved 2018-12-14.
  8. "Johnston Press buyout debated in the Commons - News from Parliament". UK Parliament. 19 November 2018. Retrieved 19 November 2018.
  9. Woods, Ben (May 26, 2019). "Scotsman owner JPI Media puts papers on the block" – via www.thetimes.co.uk.
  10. "JPI Media 'in talks' to sell newspapers like the i and Yorkshire Post". July 8, 2019.
  11. "Hedge funds in talks to sell i and regional newspapers". Sky News.
  12. "Express owner eyes deal for Scotsman". Independent.ie.
  13. "Daily Mail owner buys i newspaper for £50m". BBC News. 29 November 2019.
  14. Sharman, David (11 February 2020). "JPIMedia boss says company no longer 'actively exploring sale'". HoldtheFrontPage. Retrieved 11 December 2022.
  15. Symon, Ken (31 December 2020). "The Scotsman publisher sold to veteran industry player's group". Business Insider. Retrieved 31 December 2020.
  16. Casci, Mark (31 December 2020). "Yorkshire Post owner JPIMedia sold to National World". The Yorkshire Post. Retrieved 31 December 2020.
  17. Wright, Greg (3 August 2021). "National World Plc announces the expansion of footprint into all major metropolitan centres in UK". The Yorkshire Post. Retrieved 17 November 2022.
  18. "JPI's National World reaches 20m monthly page views a year after launch". Press Gazette. 2022-04-11. Retrieved 2022-11-17.
  19. Sharman, David (2 September 2021). "Mayor Sadiq Khan backs London World's launch". HoldtheFrontPage. Retrieved 17 November 2022.
  20. "News Brands". JPIMedia. JPIMedia Ltd. Retrieved 20 February 2019.
  21. Our Business: Johnston (Falkirk) Ltd, Johnston Press plc Archived 17 July 2011 at the Wayback Machine
  22. "Paisley & Renfrewshire Extra (defunct) | British Newspapers Online". 15 April 2011.
  23. "Johnston Press sells its 14 titles in the Republic". Irish Times. Archived from the original on 9 April 2014. Retrieved 22 August 2014.
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