TRINITY Mirror has admitted that advertising at the Daily Mirror was down by 7 per cent in the first half, depressing the shares 8½p to 618p despite the revelation of a new suitor for the tabloid paper.

The City reaction reflects investor worries about the state of the overall advertising market, and a belief that Trinity Mirror has little intention of parting with its flagship title even for a bid as high as £800 million.

Trading weakness at the Mirror, which reflects the slowdown in retail and other forms of consumer advertising, has meant that ad revenues across the group, which also publishes regional titles such as The Birmingham Post, will be down by 0.4 per cent for the first half.

Trinity Mirror said that the decline at the Mirror was in line with that seen at rival newspapers, which include The Sun, owned by News Corporation, parent company of The Times.

A spokesman for Trinity Mirror said: “The important thing to remember about our national newspapers is that they continue to hold volume share of advertising.”

The six-month figure conceals a sharp deterioration in May and last month. Previously, at the time of the group’s annual meeting at the beginning of May, the company had said that ad revenues were down by a more modest 3.9 per cent.

But there was strength elsewhere in the group and ad revenues were up at the regional business and at the Daily Record and the group’s other Scottish titles. That reflects greater resilience in local markets, which are less dependent on advertising from retailers and suppliers of branded goods.

The new suitor for the Mirror is Marcus Evans, a low-profile conference magnate with no known political connections. He and a consortium of investors tried to put together a bid of between £700 million and £800 million for the Mirror last year but that was quietly rebuffed.

Mr Evans, who owns a business that claims to have annual sales of $350 million, is thought to have remained in touch with the company, making proposals for other parts of the business. These discussions, however, did not proceed far and there is no current approach from the entrepreneur.

If it was ever put up for auction, the Mirror should fetch comfortably more than the £665 million that The Daily Telegraph went for last year. Operating profits at the Mirror last year were £66 million, compared to the £35 million for the broadsheet paper in the year leading up to its sale.

Trinity Mirror has also been chasing a number of smaller acquisitions. The company has expressed interest in buying Hot Group, a recruitment business, and is likely to bid for Exchange & Mart, the classified advertising title put on the block by United Business Media.

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