Evening Standard sees widening losses as Evgeny Lebedev provides loans

The Evening Standard, a London freesheet, has received additional funding from Russian-born peer Evgeny Lebedev as the publication faces widening losses. Shareholders, including Lord Lebedev as the largest shareholder, supplied the newspaper with £16.8m in loans in recent months, according to delayed results published on Companies House. This is in addition to the £14m in loans the publisher received in the year leading up to November 2022. The Evening Standard has announced that it will require further funds from its shareholders to sustain its operations, to which they have agreed.

The newspaper recorded its worst pre-tax losses since 2010, apart from 2020 during the Covid lockdowns. Losses reached £16.4m, up from the previous year’s loss of £14.4m. This marks the sixth consecutive year of no profits for the Evening Standard, with cumulative losses totaling £84.5m. The newspaper attributed the decline in advertising revenues to inflation, Covid restrictions, and rising living costs.

A significant factor in the increased costs of £45.6m was printing, which experienced considerable inflationary pressure. However, revenue saw a 13% increase to £31.6m, with 90% of it coming from advertising sales. The Evening Standard’s spokesman commented, “While both our print and digital revenues grew in 2022, the newspaper has not been immune to the cost pressures and broader economic trends affecting media brands worldwide.”

In an effort to revamp the newspaper’s struggling adaptation to the digital landscape, Lord Lebedev enlisted the former editor of GQ, Dylan Jones, as the editor-in-chief. This appointment is part of a broader shake-up that included the removal of chief executive Charles Yardley in May. Since October 2021, the Evening Standard has been without a full-time editor after Emily Sheffield, sister-in-law of former Prime Minister David Cameron, stepped down after just 15 months.