Daily Express owner Northern & Shell is in discussions with rival newspaper group Trinity Mirror about the potential sale of a minority stake in its newspapers and a deal to share back-office operations.
Although Northern & Shell founder and chairman Richard Desmond used Twitter to play down reports that he was in talks to sell off his newspaper titles, two people close to the discussions said the media groups were actively exploring ways of working more closely together.
The move comes at a critical moment for the UK newspaper industry as it is hammered by falling print advertising revenues and year-on-year drops in circulation. Media analysts Enders predicts print advertising across the sector could contract by almost 20 per cent in 2017 following a similar fall last year.