Reach plc said it plans to close two of its printing sites in the UK as it reported a fall in full year revenues, due mainly to declining sales in its print network
The UK and Ireland’s largest commercial news publisher, announced in its full year results an overall revenue decrease of 3.7% to £518.4m, with a 4.6% decline in Print revenue to £388.1m.
Reach, which owns the Daily Mirror, The Star, Daily Express and many regional dailies, also reported a statutory operating loss of £160.1m, which it said was driven by a £222.8m non-cash impairment charge (£182.6m net of deferred tax). In 2024, this figure was nil.
Despite this, Reach achieved a 2.4% rise in pre-tax profits for the year of £99.7m. Adjusted operating profit for the year was also 2.4% higher at £104.7
Commenting on the results Reach plc Chief Executive Officer, Piers North, said: “We are pleased to have increased our adjusted operating profit to £104.7m, driven by decisive action on costs as we move forward with a leaner and more strategic structure.”
“In a year marked by disruption in the search and referral landscape, we have demonstrated our resilience with a strong financial performance.”
Print site closures
As part of its ongoing review Reach announced that it plans to close two print sites, Saltire and Watford.
The firm’s Oldham site will continue to operate and also serve most of its Scottish market following Saltire’s closure, with long-term contractual agreements in place for the remainder of our printing requirements.
Reach said these closures have a compelling internal rate of return, a two-year cash payback and underpin cost savings along with a material reduction in its operational risks.
The cash cost of change associated with these closures are estimated to be around £25m.
The group expects to dispose of the two properties in 2027.
Video focus
Reach also reported over 100 new specialist video roles across its regional and national newsrooms.
It said it is taking a multi platform approach to distributing video content to attract social and off-platform audiences and drive audiences back to its websites.
It reported high-quality original content produced by its in-house studios, with repeatable franchises and YouTube channels.
Examples given include its All Out franchises (Football, Rugby League and Gaming) and Daily Expresso show; the company said it was creating new sponsorship and branded content opportunities.
AI and tech
Reach reported a step change in AI integration across the Group, supporting a wide range of activities, from video production, data analysis to back office tasks.
This includes leveraging its proprietary editorial tool, Guten (which supports 26% of its articles), and making Google Gemini available for all colleagues, which is seeing high early adoption with >40% frequent users.
It has an agreed AI content deal with Amazon AWS, with a pay per usage model it said will create a new recurring revenue stream and is in active discussions with several other tech platforms.
Digital strategy
Reach launched digital subscriptions, it said would offer its audiences ad-lite access and exclusive content, including the M.E.N and the Express.
It said the increased commercialisation of video helped to drive strong double digit revenue growth from direct video, social video and sponsorships, however, total video revenues declined 3% YOY due to lower programmatic revenues.
2026 Outlook
Across the first two months of 2026 Reach said it continued to trade against the backdrop of lower referral volumes and a challenging macro environment, and is taking a cautious approach to digital performance for the year.
The group claimed it on track to deliver market expectations for the full year, which it said is underpinned by a 5-6% reduction in adjusted operating costs.
Reach plc’s shares were trading down 9.77% at 62p each in London following the results.