REBEL INDEPENDENT News Media (INM) stakeholder Denis O’Brien has said his issues with the company’s management are “not personal”.

Speaking at the fringes of the Global Economic Forum in Farmleigh House, Co Dublin, yesterday, Mr O’Brien, who owns 26 per cent of the Irish-based media group, said the London Independent was no longer a viable business.

“First of all let’s dispel one thing. This is not a personal thing,” he said. Mr O’Brien said he had made a substantial investment in the company and he had recommended certain things he believed needed to be done to sustain the business.

“That is reduce costs, you need to close the London Independent because it’s not a viable business, it’s just not viable any more,” he said. The company needed to restructure and get out of loss-making business, he said. “And the management’s response is to say, ‘Look, this is a personal thing’.

“This is not personal. I speak like all the other shareholders and all the other shareholders are saying to me, ‘Denis you’re absolutely right’.

“This company needs to be restructured properly and I don’t believe the management is capable of pulling that off because we’ve gone now through a whole series of standstill agreements, we’ve defaulted with our bond holders, which is very, very serious and they’re very, very upset about it.

“So it’s time for the management to stop moving and saying this is personal and start doing something about it. It’s all about taking action now that can save the company.”