Newscom is thought to have beaten the Guardian Media Group in the
race to buy the Hampshire Chronicle Group.
The group, comprising the Hampshire Chronicle, Romsey Advertiser and
South Hants Weekly News, has been the subject of takeover rumours for a
number of years.
The group’s national sales are handled by The Media House, which is
based in Colchester. The Media House’s managing director Stuart Freeman
was unaware of the sale but was not surprised by the news.
’This is only our second year selling the account and we increased
business by 70 per cent in the first year, so it’s an attractive buy,’
he said.
The account will transfer to Newscom’s national sales house. Freeman
said: ’It’s an important client but we’re a multi-media regional sell,
so it wouldn’t be a huge loss.’