Laura Slattery

Independent News & Media has bought four magazine titles from Belfast-based Greer Publications.

The media group acquired the business and trade titles Ulster Business, Ulster Grocer and Hospitality Review NI as well as the consumer fashion and lifestyle title Northern Woman for an undisclosed sum.

INM said the ten employees who currently work on these titles will be retained and for the next few months will continue to operate from Greer's premises in Belfast Harbour Estate.

Greer Publications was founded by James and Gladys Greer in 1982. The titles, four of the eight published by Greer, will now be managed by Richard McClean, INM's managing director in Northern Ireland.

Loyal following

INM chief executive Robert Pitt said the magazines had "a loyal following" and that he looked forward to that continuing.

“An important factor in acquiring these titles is the fact that they each have a robust online presence, and this very much fits in with the forward strategy across all of INM’s titles,” he said.

The company, which publishes the Irish Independent, Sunday Independent, Herald and Sunday World newspapers, signalled last year that it was likely to pursue acquisitions in the media sector, having cleared its debt burden through a combination of writedowns from its lenders and the sale of international assets.

INM will publish its full-year results for 2015 on Friday, March 4th.