Chapter 238: Chapter 238 Legacy?
Nowadays, competition among local newspapers in Britain has become increasingly fierce.
Because in addition to competing with those major national newspapers, the four British mainland "United Kingdom" countries of England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland each have regional newspapers, and the counties under them, and even lower regions, have many local newspapers with smaller circulation areas.
The competition among these newspapers is already very fierce, and with the rise of the Internet, news websites have also had an impact on them. It can be said that some local newspapers can only survive by relying on news with local characteristics.
Until 2008, after the subprime mortgage crisis, more than 70% of local newspapers in Britain went bankrupt.
According to Barron's understanding, the Bute family is currently mainly in Scotland, and previously had a mining company in Wales, so most of the local newspapers they own are from these two places.
In addition to these local newspapers in which they own a majority of shares, the Bute family also owns more than 20% of the shares of The Scotsman, a very influential newspaper in Scotland. Therefore, it is normal for them to want to get rid of some of the burdens as those tabloids continue to lose money.
This time, the newspapers that Viscount Bute wants to sell include The Courier and The Daily Record in Scotland and The Welsh Chronicle in Wales.
These three newspapers are all local newspapers, and their profits have continued to decline in recent years, especially since the year before last, when they have already suffered losses. Last year, the three newspapers incurred a total loss of more than 3.5 million pounds.
Under such circumstances, especially since the Bute family still holds a very high proportion of shares in a national newspaper such as The Scotsman, even if they sell these three newspapers, they can still influence The Scotsman and two other Scottish local newspapers that are doing well.
As for the selling price, it was not high. The three newspapers together only cost 2 million pounds, but they would also have to bear the accompanying debt of about 3.5 million pounds.
Barron agreed immediately - although he only spent a symbolic price of 1 pound when he bought the Independent Newspaper, the Independent Newspaper still had a debt of more than 15 million pounds at the time, and given their operating conditions at the time, they would probably suffer losses of millions of pounds every year.
Therefore, in comparison, being able to acquire these three local newspapers at the current price is considered appropriate.
What Barron values more is the influence of these newspapers in the local area. They already have a certain number of regular readers.
Especially the newspapers in Scotland - the Scottish Parliament election will begin in May next year. At that time, Melvin Coe, the former founder of the "Imperial Shield" military company, will run for the Scottish Parliament, and Barron will support him. At that time, two of the three local newspapers he has bought now, the Scottish newspapers, will be able to play a role.
As for the losses of these three newspapers now?
After buying these newspapers, Barron plans to convert one of the Scottish newspapers and the Welsh newspaper into free newspapers.
Free newspapers can greatly increase the length of their advertising content, and can obtain news directly from independent newspapers. They only need to retain a small number of reporters and editors and maintain local news columns.
Moreover, the circulation of free newspapers will also increase greatly compared to paid newspapers.
With this two-pronged approach, it is not difficult to turn these three newspapers from losses to profits. Even in the worst case scenario, if there are still certain losses, Barron can afford it compared to the influence these newspapers can bring in Scotland and Wales.
And with these "public opinion tools" in hand, it will be easier for Barron to win over Scottish and Welsh politicians.
…
"You said there was news about Lady Emma?"
After returning to the villa in Kensington, Barron met Nigel Inkster who had come.
Nigel's expression was a little strange after hearing Barron's words. He said,
"Yes, Your Highness, but that Lady Emma...she is dead."
"Dead?"
Barron was really surprised:
"When did it happen?"
"Just a week ago..."
Nigel handed a document to Barron, then pointed to a hospital case and death certificate and said:
"Ms. Emma Evans was diagnosed with advanced cancer a year ago. She has spent most of her time in a manor in southern France. In addition, when we were investigating Mrs. Emma, we happened to contact her lawyer. According to her will, the only heir to her estate designated by Mrs. Emma is you, Your Highness."
"I?"
If Barron was surprised by the sudden death of Lady Emma just now, then now, after hearing what Nigel said, he even suspected that he was hallucinating...
"Yes, according to the information sent by Lady Emma's lawyer, which is the one below, the inheritance left by Lady Emma includes 1.5% of the shares of the British Northern Gas Company, a manor and two properties in England, one of which is in London, and a manor in France. The total value is more than 60 million pounds!"
Listening to Nigel's words, Barron flipped through the document.
Nigel also confirmed and marked some of the above information, which can be said to be fully prepared.
Lady Emma married Baron Eden Evans twenty years ago, but the baron fell ill and died in the sixth year of their marriage. They had no children.
Lady Emma never remarried, so she was alone until her death a week ago.
But Barron could never imagine why the other party would leave these inheritances to him?
If Barron did not know clearly that his predecessor was the son of the old duke and his first wife, he would have doubted whether he was the child of his stepfather and Lady Emma.
After hearing the name Lady Emma, Barron went back to Chatsworth Manor and looked up some letters left by the old duke. He actually found a lot of letters signed by Emma. The beautiful handwriting was obviously written by a woman...
Although there were no explicit words in the letters, many of the contents gave people the feeling that the relationship between the two was not ordinary.
This is understandable. After all, the old duke has been a widower for many years, and the Cavendish family has excellent genes - this can also be seen from Barron's handsome appearance. Therefore, it can be said that the old earl has a certain appeal to women. Considering the general... uh, personality of British aristocrats, it is normal for them to have a lover.
I'm afraid it's not normal if there is none...
After all, in Barron's heart, the old Duke, his cheap father, does not really bind him too deeply, so he can look at these things calmly without any embarrassment.
From the notes on this document, we can see that most of Mrs. Emma's inheritance came from her late husband.
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