Newsflow not snoceeflow
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• National Carriers subsidiary Newsflow has won a multimillion contract to distribute Associated Newspapers' two major titles in the UK.
Newsflow plans to take over Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday distribution by early June, and could be in line to scoop another two titles — Express Newspapers'Daily Express and Sunday Express— "this month".
The move hits British Rail badly. Its contract with Associated Newspapers had two years to run. Three other quality titles — The Guardian, Financial Times, and Daily Telegraph — are also set to move to road distribution.
David Buck of NCCS predicts that BR will now pull out of its remaining distribution deals: "I cannot see it continuing with such low revenue. Its costs are going up as more newpapers leave," he says. Next week Newsflow will announce plans for vehicles, staff and distribution depots for the contract, which does not include the Mail group's Sunday Magazine You.
It is a major coup for the National Freight Consortium subsidiary but it will not say how much the contract is worth until details are finalised.
BR's national business manager for newspapers John Fitzgerald denies that the Associated Newspapers contract has been lost: "We have a contract with the company, due to run until March 1990, and it is not in a position to have a contract with another company."
The Daily Mail moves to new premises in September and has been discussing new road distribution plans (CM 24 Feb-2 March). The two sister titles have a combined supply circulation of about 4 million.