The High Court has approved the examiner’s recommendation that Dublin Gazette Newspapers (DGN) continues to operate. DGN publishes eight free newspapers in the greater Dublin area, stretching from Malahide on the northside to Dun Laoghaire on the southside, with other group titles covering local news and events in the Swords, Blanchardstown, Dundrum, Castleknock, Lucan and Clondalkin areas.
The High Court decision follows confirmation that as part of a rescue plan The Irish Times is no longer a shareholder in DGN. The Times previously owned nearly two-thirds of Gazette and invested €3.5 million. When the group went into examinership in June, the Times was owed €92,000 for printing. The three remaining shareholders will now invest €200,000 in the business and take full control of the company.
The three shareholders are chartered accountant Mary Leane, Texas oil and gas businessman Tom Kelley and Michael McGovern, who worked with O’Kennedy Brindley (later Saatchi & Saatchi) and Doherty Advertising. McGovern thanked the group’s staff, suppliers and customers for their support during the examinership.
DGN was launched back in March 2004. Its titles now have a combined readership of 169,000 (TGI Ireland 2012). The current ABC figures for DGN stand at 40,389 papers per week. McGovern claims that TGI figures for last year show Gazette newspapers are number three in terms of readership in Dublin and that the group has more adult readers in and around the capital than the Irish Independent and the Irish Daily Star.
