The Daily Express could be heading into new ownership after Richard Desmond, its media tycoon owner, asked Goldman Sachs to conduct a review of his newspaper assets.
The investment bank, one of Desmond’s long-standing advisers, will assess a range of options for the Express and its tabloid sister title, the Daily Star. There is no formal mandate for a sale at this stage.
The move comes after Desmond was courted by Barclays Capital to find a buyer for OK! magazine. It will stoke speculation that the colourful press baron, who recently became a father again, could be preparing to leave the publishing industry, where he has spent his entire career.
Bankers are forecasting a new round of consolidation for newspaper companies, which are trying to drive new digital income streams to offset falling print circulation.
They think Desmond’s titles could be a good fit with Lord Rothermere’s Daily Mail or Trinity Mirror, which owns the Daily Mirror and the People.
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The Express has been a goldmine for Desmond, who acquired it for £125m from Lord Hollick’s United News & Media in 2000. He has taken out £200m in pay and pension, plus £100m from a property deal.
His newspapers make an estimated £50m annual profit and could fetch £300m-£500m. The Express had a circulation of 624,000 in February, down 7.3% compared with a year ago.
However, Desmond may yet choose not to sell. He demonstrated his commitment to newspapers only last year, when he spent £100m to upgrade his printing presses at Westferry in east London.
And he still harbours ambitions to buy The Sun from News Corporation — owner of The Sunday Times — but has failed to persuade Rupert Murdoch, the group’s chairman and chief executive, into a deal.
Recently, Desmond has been focused on reviving Channel 5, bought last year for £104m from RTL. This week the broadcaster is expected to announce that Big Brother will return to British TV screens in the summer.
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Desmond also believes that YouView, the new internet TV platform part-owned by Channel 5, has a healthy future. Lord Sugar, the Amstrad veteran, has been drafted in to chair the venture.