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PARTNERSHIP TO LAUNCH METRO IN IRELAND
10 October 2005
Metro to be launched in Dublin today is a venture between Metro International, which introduced the Metro phenomenon ten years ago and is now the fastest growing newspaper group in the world, Associated Newspapers, which has successfully developed the Metro brand to be the fourth largest daily newspaper in the UK and the Irish Times Limited, publishers of The Irish Times and ireland.com, Ireland's leading news and information website.
"Dublin is one of Europe's leading capitals. It is a dynamic and changing city. It is our belief that Metro will complement the busy lifestyles of Dubliners and will give advertisers an effective platform to reach a highly desirable demographic," said Pelle Tornberg, CEO, Metro International. "Furthermore, this venture builds on our long-standing advertising partnership with Associated Newspaper's Metro edition in the UK. The revenue from international advertising campaigns is growing strongly and this Irish venture will add to Metro International's already unique international footprint".
Metro International will initially own 10% and Associated Newspapers 90% of the share capital in the newly created venture. Subject to any requisite competition clearance, the parties intend to form a venture in which Metro International holds an option to increase its ownership up to 33.3% and Associated Newspapers and The Irish Times will hold the remainder of the equity in equal parts. The Irish Times will also print the newspaper.
Steve Auckland, Managing Director, Metro UK said, "Dublin is a great city with a high proportion of urbanites who we believe will really value the Metro package. They will enjoy the concise, no-spin news, city living and lifestyle features and make full use of its local entertainment and listing information. Since launching six years ago, we have successfully attracted a new generation of newspaper readers, many of whom did not previously read a daily paper, and we are confident that this trend will continue in Dublin. This will be great for advertisers, providing them with a new opportunity to target a highly valuable audience who are hard to reach with traditional and established media."
Maeve Donovan, Managing Director of the Irish Times welcomed the venture saying "Dublin is the latest significant European city to make a daily edition of Metro available to its young urban professionals. The Irish Times has always believed in the need to embrace market change. We are forming a partnership with two very successful international publishers in bringing Metro - a publishing success story - to Ireland."
Dublin is a rapidly expanding city. In 2002 Dublin had a population of 1.2 million according to the CSO Census and its population is expected to grow to 1.76 million by 2011. The total advertising market in 2004 was estimated to be worth €1.37 billion in gross number of which press accounted for €928 million or 68%.
Lee Thompson, Managing Director of Metro in Ireland added, "This represents a new era for newspapers in this market. Dublin is a young, vibrant, and growing city, which matches the Metro brand perfectly. Metro-style newspapers are the fastest growing newspapers in the world and the Dublin edition of Metro will be the latest installment in what has become a global publishing phenomenon."
The Irish edition of Metro, the first issue of which was launched today, will be distributed free of charge each morning by hand and from racks at strategic locations throughout Dublin. The newspaper will target a young, active, metropolitan readership and provide Metro's distinctive blend of local, national and international news and information.
For further information, please contact;
For Metro International: Henrik Persson, +46-70-762-0087, henrik.persson@metro.lu
For Associated Newspapers: Steve Auckland, +44-207-7651-5346, steve.auckland@ukmetro.co.uk
For The Irish Times: Maeve Donovan, +353-(0)1-675 8000, mdonovan@irish-times.ie
For Metro in Ireland: Gerry O'Sullivan/Alison Mills +353-(0)1-475 1444, gerry@q4pr.ie
About Metro International
Metro is the largest and fastest growing international newspaper in the world. 57 daily Metro editions are published in 81 major cities in 18 countries in 18 languages across Europe, North & South America and Asia. Metro has a unique global reach - attracting a young, active, well-educated audience of 16.8 million daily readers and 35 million weekly readers. Metro has an equal number of male and female readers and 70% are under the age of 45. Metro's advertising sales have grown at a compound annual rate of 47% since the launch of the first edition in 1995.
Metro International S.A. 'A' and 'B' shares are listed on the Stockholmsbörsen 'O-List' under the symbols MTROA and MTROB.
About Metro UK
Metro is the UK's fourth largest national daily paper. Since its launch in March 1999 Metro has expanded from 80,000 copies in London to over 1 million copies across 13 cities. Metro is designed and written for young, affluent urban commuters providing a 20 minute informative and entertaining read. This is reflected in the paper's readership profile. Metro has 1.8 million daily readers of which 67% are ABC1 and 74% are under 45 years old. Metro made an operating profit in its fourth year and this has grown substantially in the two subsequent years. Advertising growth has averaged 18% per year over the last three years.
About The Irish Times
The Irish Times was established in 1859; the first edition was published on Tuesday, 29th March 1859. The Irish Times has since earned an international reputation as Ireland's quality daily newspaper. News reporting from throughout Ireland is accompanied by reports from a comprehensive network of foreign correspondents, as well as sports and business coverage, features and arts sections, lifestyle, jobs and property. Each issue contains well-informed background analysis and assessment of the events of the day, and diversity of debate in the daily opinion columns.
The Irish Times enjoys an audited circulation of 117,543. (Source: ABC January - June 2005). It has an all-adult readership of 335,000 with 80% of its readership in the important ABC1 demographic grouping. (Source: JNRS 2005)
The press release can also be downloaded from the enclosed link: