The Sportsman Newspaper Closes Down

The Sportsman shut down today after just seven months of publication.

The administrators decided to stop printing after negotiations to refinance the paper reached a stalemate.

No paper will be produced tonight and staff have been told that they will be paid up until tomorrow and will receive a statutory amount of holiday pay.

Administrator Andrew Andronikou from UHY Hacker Young came to the Sportsman offices in Hammersmith late today and broke the news to the chairman, Jeremy Deedes. The rest of the staff found out at about 5.30pm.

The decision was made at a meeting of shareholders at lunchtime today.

"People knew that it was pretty close to the wire," a Sportsman source said. "We were almost printing day to day since Friday last week."

"It is a very sad note on which The Sportsman closes," said Mr Deedes.

"Since we redesigned the paper six weeks ago, circulation has grown every week. Ironically, our last recorded sale, of 21,000, was not only our best day's sale since the launch period, but also corresponded to the figure set out as the 'break even' under the new business plan.

"To be shutting on a rising sale is somehow more heart-breaking than if we had been in steady decline.

"Our first thoughts are with the staff who have put in a Herculean effort over the past weeks, in very difficult circumstances. Producing a daily newspaper places enough demands; to do it enthusiastically every night while the future is in doubt shows a dedication way beyond the realms of duty. I can only say thank you."

Late last month, administrators from UHY Hacker Young told creditors at a special meeting they had received no significant offers for the paper.

The Sportsman raised a total of £11.5m prior to its launch but was placed into administration just four months later with debts of £3.9m.

The paper has failed to hit circulation targets since launching in March. After selling 65,000 copies initially, the £1 title fell well sort of its 40,000 target.

In May, its full price sale was just 12,762 copies.