Trinity sells Ulster newspapers

SLY Bailey, chief executive of Trinity Mirror, brought the hammer down on the five-month auction of the group's seven Northern Ireland newspapers including the politically sensitive News Letter in Belfast.

Venture capitalist 3i will pay £47m for the titles and immediately said it had no intention of selling on the News Letter to Ulster Unionist MP and former PR man David Burnside.

He had allied himself with at least one other short-listed bidder not particularly keen to hang on to the Loyalist tabloid and its shrinking circulation.

But asked if Burnside was lined up to buy the News Letter, 3i director Robin Marshall said: 'Absolutely not. We are delighted to be backing existing management to grow all these titles.

'They are a talented and dynamic team who have a significant track record of success. The economy in the North of Ireland is experiencing strong growth, and successfully run local newspapers will undoubtedly benefit.'

Bailey said: 'We believe we have achieved a good price and realised value for our shareholders. These were tremendous assets but had a limited strategic fit with Trinity Mirror.'

The success of 3i's bid from among 20 potential buyers was due in part to the fact that it employs former Mirror Group chief David Montgomery as a consultant. It paid what some analysts described as a fairly full price.

Venture capitalists are already considering bids for the much larger Telegraph Group, likely to be sold by Hollinger International following the departure of chief executive Lord Black.