Trinity Mirror plc History



Address:
One Canada Square
Canary Wharf
London E14 5AP
United Kingdom

Telephone: 44 20 7293 3000
Fax: 44 20 7293 3476

Website:
Public Company
Incorporated: 1999
Employees: 14,000
Sales: £1.13 billion (2001)
Stock Exchanges: London
Ticker Symbol: TNI
NAIC: 511110 Newspaper Publishers

Company Perspectives:

We have delivered a robust financial performance in 2001. The current economy makes forecasting future performance very difficult but we have developed clear and ambitious plans for all parts of the Group. We have the team and the determination to deliver these plans. In doing so, we expect to create value for shareholders and fulfillment for all of our people.

Key Dates:

1737:
The News Letter, published by Trinity and the oldest surviving English-language newspaper in the world, makes its first appearance in Belfast.
1855:
The Daily Post, with a cover price of one penny, is launched by Liverpool Daily Post & Echo Ltd.
1870:
Trinity introduces the Belfast Telegraph, which becomes Northern Ireland's best-selling newspaper.
1894:
Alfred Harmsworth buys the London Evening News for £25,000.
1896:
Alfred and Harold Harmsworth found the Daily Mail.
1911:
The Daily Mirror becomes the first daily paper with a circulation greater than one million.
1951:
Cecil Harmsworth King becomes chairman of the Mirror.
1961:
The Mirror and its newly acquired magazine empire are merged to form the International Publishing Corporation (IPC).
1968:
Cecil King is forced to resign.
1970:
The merger of IPC and Albert E. Reed & Co. Ltd., one of the largest paper products companies in Europe, creates Reed International.
1984:
Robert Maxwell purchases the Mirror papers for about £90 million, and the Mirror Group Newspapers Ltd. (MGN) becomes a pillar of his business empire.
1985:
Trinity International Holdings plc is established as a new parent company for Liverpool Daily Post & Echo Ltd.
1988:
Trinity International Holdings shortens its name to Trinity plc.
1991:
Robert Maxwell is found dead, presumably from drowning.
1994:
A consortium led by the Mirror Group purchases the Independent for an estimated $110 million.
1995:
Trinity buys five British newspapers, including the Belfast Telegraph in Northern Ireland and the Western Mail in Cardiff, Wales, from Canada's Thomson Corporation.
1997:
Mirror Group acquires Midland Independent Newspaper plc.
1998:
Mirror Group sells its stake in the Independent.
1999:
Trinity announces its purchase of Mirror Group and the combined company is named Trinity Mirror plc.
2002:
Trinity Mirror announces plans to earmark an additional £25 million for editorial revamping and marketing for the Daily Mirror.

Company History:

Further Reading:

  • Berti, Pat, "Pennysaver Sold to Gateway Parent," Pittsburgh Business Times, February 12, 1990, p. 2.
  • Bower, Tom, Maxwell the Outsider, New York: Viking, 1992.
  • Cook, Richard, "The Devolution Effect," Campaign, June 12, 1998, p. 30.
  • Cowell, Alan, "Mirror Group Chief Resigns in Showdown," New York Times, January 27, 1999, p. C7.
  • ------, "Mirror Rejects Trinity's Sweetened Bid," New York Times, March 2, 1999, p. C4.
  • Crawford, Anne-Marie, "Trinity Hits Back at IPA," Marketing, December 9, 1999, p. 3.
  • Dignam, Conor, "Mirror Group Profits Mask Its TV Troubles," Marketing, September 21, 1995, p. 12.
  • Edelman, Maurice, The Mirror: A Political History, London: Hamish Mailton, 1966.
  • Escott, T.H.S., Masters of English Journalism, London: T. Fisher Unwin, 1911.
  • Gapper, John, "Reshuffle at Mirror Group As Kane Resigns," Financial Times, January 15, 1998, p. 26.
  • Johnson, Branwell, "The Cost of Trinity Teaming Up with Telegraph Sales," Marketing Week, March 7, 2002, p. 16.
  • MacMillan, Gordon, "Wanderer Returns to Claim His Newspaper Crown," Campaign, July 19, 1996, p. 11.
  • Maremont, Mark, and Mark Landler, "An Empire Up for Grabs," Business Week, December 23, 1991.
  • McIntosh, Bill, "Mirror Group Sale of Independent on Track for This Week," Dow Jones News Service, March 9, 1998.
  • O'Connor, Robert, "British Papers' Purchase Ruled Not a Monopoly," Editor & Publisher, April 30, 1994, pp. 30-31.
  • "Pressing Ahead in the North," Marketing, February 21, 1991, p. 29.
  • Snoddy, Raymond, "Maxwell--the Legacy: Media Interests Flourish Under New Ownership," Financial Times, January 20, 1996, p. 5.
  • Sorkin, Andrew Ross, "Merger in Britain Creates Largest Publisher," New York Times, July 31, 1999, p. C2.
  • "Thomson in Deal to Sell 5 Newspapers in Britain," New York Times, July 11, 1997, p. D5.
  • "Trinity Mirror Acquiring Southnews plc," Marketing, November 2, 2000, p. 11.
  • "Trinity Mirror Claims Nationals' Ad Sales Plummet," Media Business, December 17, 2001, p. 15.
  • "Trinity Mirror Digital Unveils 'ic'-Branded Showbiz Site," Marketing Week, December 14, 2000, p. 15.
  • "U.K. Newspaper Publisher Plans £25 Million Boost for Flagship Titles," Evening Standard, February 28, 2002.
  • "U.K.'s Mirror Group Offers $502.1 Million for Midland Newspapers," Dow Jones Online News, July 4, 1997.

Source: International Directory of Company Histories, Vol. 49. St. James Press, 2003.