Independent print edition to close

The Independent, which was launched in 1986, will be the first national newspaper “to move to a digital-only future”, said owners ESI Media.

The decision affects the Independent and Independent on Sunday and will take effect at the end of March.

As a result, there will be “some redundanices”, according to ESI Media, but 25 new digital content jobs will be created.

The move comes after the paper’s owners Alexander and Evgeny Lebedev agreed a deal to sell their cut-price sister paper i to regional publisher Johnston Press for around £24m.

The Independent newspapers are part of the group owned by the Lebedev family, who have other media assets including the London Evening Standard and local TV station London Live.

ESI Media said the independent.co.uk website has seen its monthly audience grow by a third over the last year to nearly 70 million global unique users. It added that the site is profitable and is expected to see revenue growth of 50 per cent this year.

Difficult

The British newspaper industry is going through a difficult period, with print advertising revenues falling and titles struggling to find a profitable online business model.

The Independent’s daily circulation has fallen from a high of 400,000 in 1988 to just over 40,000.

Evgeny Lebedev said: “The newspaper industry is changing, and that change is being driven by readers. They’re showing us that the future is digital.

“This decision preserves the Independent brand and allows us to continue to invest in the high quality editorial content that is attracting more and more readers to our online platforms.”