Trinity Mirror has missed the revised target price on its disposal programme by 41.5 per cent after being forced to retain titles earmarked for sale that failed to attract adequate bids.

The publishing group today blamed "conditions in the debt market" for impacting potential bids for its Midlands business and some of its South Eastern assets which it has now decided to retain.

Trinity Mirror also said today it has sold its sports division, which includes The Racing Post, for £170 million in cash, to Stradbrook Acquisitions, a company controlled by Ireland's FL Partners.

In total, Trinity Mirror has earned £263 million from the process, in contrast to the £450 million it estimated it would make back in August, which in turn was a significant reduction to the £600 million price tag forecast for the Midlands, London, South East and Sports assets. Shares in Trinity Mirror fell from 412p to 408.75p - a four-year low.

Sly Bailey, chief executive at Trinity Mirror, said today: "Throughout this process we made it clear that we were not prepared to sell our high-quality media assets at any price.

"It is clear to us that offers for the businesses we are retaining in the Midlands and the South East did not reflect their true value. Conditions in the debt markets have inevitably impacted on the positions of potential bidders."

As part of the sale of The Racing Post to Stradbrook Acquisitions, Trinity Mirror has agreed with the paper's former owner, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, to donate £10 million to four specified charities "connected to the horse racing industry".

These include the Injured Jockeys Fund, Racing Welfare, Retraining of Racehorses and Direct Aid for Africa.

Sheikh Mohammed set up the title in 1986 and retained a right to veto buyers of The Post by retaining a license over The Racing Post trademark. Sheikh Mohammed sold The Racing Post to Trinity Mirror in 2001 for £1.

Trinity Mirror said today it will return surplus cash from the disposals to shareholders, adding: "As indicated at the times of our interim announcement in August 2007, the board remains confident that our 2007 performance will be in line with expectations."

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