Left leaning entrepreneur acquires five percent stake in Reach Media

A prominent entrepreneur known for his success in the used car market has acquired a five percent share in Reach, the publisher behind several leading UK newspapers including the Daily Mirror, Daily Express and Manchester Evening News. Cecil Hetherington, widely recognised as the force behind UsedCarsNIcom, expanded his media footprint by recently acquiring a major stake in the left wing news website The Canary, noted for its alignment with the former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn.

Following his recent divestment from UsedCarsNIcom and the Northern Ireland property platform PropertyPalcom, Hetherington has joined the boards of both The Canary and the investigative outlet Declassified Media. These strategic moves have fuelled speculation regarding his ambitions within Reach, especially given his connections to left-leaning news organisations and his influence within the UK media landscape.

The presence of Hetherington within Reach’s shareholder base presents a point of interest, as Reach owns national publications that differ ideologically from his other investments. While The Canary and Declassified Media take distinctly leftist editorial lines, the Daily Express, another major title under Reach’s umbrella, is known for its conservative stance. The publisher also counts the Daily Star, OK magazine, the Liverpool Echo, Scotland’s Daily Record and the Belfast Live website among its holdings.

Despite growing speculation about his intentions, Hetherington declined to discuss any potential plans for exercising influence over Reach. The company is currently overseen by chief executive Piers North, who assumed the position in March, succeeding the former Ladbrokes leader Jim Mullen. In recent years, Reach has faced significant challenges, with its share price tumbling from highs above four pounds in 2021 to fifty eight pence in the present climate.

Reach’s financial difficulties mirror those of several media firms that thrived during the Covid nineteen pandemic, a period that saw a significant surge in news consumption. The publisher’s decision to keep most of its digital content freely accessible has left it vulnerable to the volatility of the advertising sector, a field now largely dominated by US technology companies. The proliferation of artificial intelligence and changing algorithms on platforms such as Google and Meta have also led to a reduction in traffic to Reach’s websites.

Seeking more stable revenue streams, Reach has recently introduced a partial paywall for the Manchester Evening News, indicating a shift in strategy as the company navigates the turbulent landscape of digital news publishing.