It has been speculated that the move has been made with a view to selling off GMG's lucrative Trader Media Group (TMG) arm.

The Sunday Times reported this weekend that chief executive Andrew Miller plans to restructure the business, with The Guardian and The Observer, along with their websites, separated from assets including B2B publisher Emap and TMG.

It has been speculated that GMG is looking to offload TMG, which it owns jointly with private equity firm Apax.

TMG's flagship brand Auto Trader is believed to be valued at around £1.5bn.

Any move to sell the business will fuel speculation that the media group is in financial trouble. Its owner, the Scott Trust, was set up purely to protect the interests of The Guardian.