The company started work on the title with a website in 2008. In April 2009, it published a pilot edition and the first official issue came out on Monday (15 June) with a print run of 10,000.

It will be printed at St Ives Web and will launch as a 32-page magazine, although editor Biet van Niekerk said he hopes this will move in time to a 64-page product.

South African Times will be distributed through branded bins across south west London and Wimbledon. With more than half a million South Africans estimated to be living in the UK, the company said it will look to expand distribution in the future as it claimed there are strong South African communities in Canada Waters, London, and Dublin.

Van Niekerk said the pilot edition, which was run during the South African elections, had proved very popular. "It's purely because of that – there's a massive demand for it," he said.

TNT Publishing decided to have the title ABC audited from the outset to distinguish it from its other free rivals.

The first edition will feature the Lions tour of South Africa as its cover story.