With the Telegraph Media Group (TMG) newspaper titles speeding their way to News International's new print site at Broxbourne somewhat sooner than originally anticipated, I wonder what the future holds for the newspaper printing plant that used to be hailed as the largest in Europe.
While it may still be a big site, the number of newspapers being printed at West Ferry is diminishing year-on-year. Quite what affect this has had on the company's financial position is hard to judge, because West Ferry hasn't filed any accounts since it posted its figures for 2005, and its 2006 accounts are now almost nine months overdue. Having a joint ownership structure involving two parties who have at times resembled the Paul McCartney and Heather Mills of newspaper publishing can't help much when it comes to agreeing what is signed off. And now one of those owners is off to print elsewhere, which is hardly a vote of confidence in the West Ferry offering, or its future. But, as someone who has for some years now winced at drab black-and-white fashion spreads in the Telegraph that were clearly crying out for at least a splash of colour, it's no surprise the publisher has taken the pragmatic decision to print at News International's state-of-the-art and as-much-colour-as-you-like setup – even if that does mean being beholden to your arch-rival.Looking back at those 2005 figures, West Ferry’s turnover of £71.7m included £18.7m of Telegraph work, £20.9m for the Express and £32m for other clients. That other figure will have included a chunk of work for Guardian Newspapers, but as the latter part of 2005 also marked the Guardian’s switch to Berliner format and to the Guardian Print Centre at Newsfax, it’s fair to assume that the “other” figure will be somewhat diminished since. Sans the Telegraph titles too, and with diminishing circulation figures for the Express titles, the once mighty West Ferry could well be operating at just 30%-50% of its former capacity going forward.
Then there’s the small, or rather not so small, matter of the pension deficit. In 2005 it was a hefty £34m, since then it has been publicly quoted as having risen to an even more onerous £66m. Both TMG and Express Newspapers have pledged to honour their responsibilities in relation to this large liability, but with the joint venture set to expire next year anyway, and Tower Hamlets having already earmarked the site for regeneration, it’s difficult to see any long-term future for West Ferry beyond being the inspiration for some twee print-based nomenclatures on a housing estate.
