Standard reports loss of £28.3m
THE firm created by billionaire businessman Alexander Lebedev to acquire the Evening Standard racked up losses of £28.3m in its first 10 months.
The losses include £9.9m in one-off fees relating to the restructuring of the business from a paid-for to a free newspaper. The paper also needs to pay back £8.3m of debts this year, according to results filed at Companies House. The 182-year-old title dropped its 50p cover charge and increased daily circulation to 600,000 last October.
Lebedev bought the title from the Daily Mail and General Trust. The Evening Standard was unavailable for comment. Last week the group said the paper broke even in a week for the first time since the acquisition.