Shares in historic newspaper publisher Archant 'worthless' after major financial restructuring
Shareholders in one of the region's largest publishing companies have been told their shares are worthless after the company had to carry out a major financial restructuring.
Archant, which publishes the Eastern Daily Press and East Anglian Daily Times, says the impact of Covid-19 plus a huge hole in its pension fund has forced it to take the action.
Parts of the 150-year-old group will go into administration but venture capitalists will support the business so that the papers can continue to be published.
In a letter to shareholders Archant says plans to reduce the pension deficit were going well until Covid-19 hit.
Archant said it was sad that the historic company could not meet the financial challenges of Covid-19 and its pension deficit.
The company has announced to staff this morning that it has reached an agreement with London-based Rcapital Partners.
Two of Archant’s holding companies – Archant Limited and Archant Community Media Holdings Limited – will go into administration but Archant Community Media Limited, the group’s trading company and employer of its staff, can continue trading.
The pension will be taken over by the Government's Pension Protection Fund, which provides pensions for former workers whose employers go bust. It means pensioners will lose 10% of their pensions.
Archant says the deal means the company now has a bright future.
The group publishes four daily newspapers, around 50 weekly newspapers, and 80 consumer and contract magazines.
It employs around 1,250 employees, and was known as Eastern Counties Newspapers Group until March 2002.
Archant closed its printing press at Thorpe just outside Norwich last year and moved printing to Hertfordshire.
That brought more than 300 years of newspaper printing in Norwich to an end.
The UK's first provincial newspaper was printed in the city back in 1701.