Business
Britain’s Guardian Group Agrees to Sell Observer Newspaper to Tortoise Media
Published by Uma Rajagopal
Posted on December 6, 2024
1 min readLast updated: January 28, 2026
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LONDON (Reuters) -Britain’s Guardian Media Group (GMG) and its owner the Scott Trust have agreed to sell The Observer, the world’s oldest Sunday newspaper, to startup Tortoise Media, the two groups said on Friday.
LONDON (Reuters) -Britain’s Guardian Media Group (GMG) and its owner the Scott Trust have agreed to sell The Observer, the world’s oldest Sunday newspaper, to startup Tortoise Media, the two groups said on Friday.
The Scott Trust will also take a minority stake in Tortoise as part of the deal and a representative will join both the Tortoise company board and the editorial board, Tortoise said.
Tortoise has raised 25 million pounds in funding to invest in “the renewal of The Observer”, it said.
Tortoise was founded in 2019 by James Harding, a former executive at the Times newspaper and BBC News.
(Reporting by Muvija M, writing by Sachin Ravikumar, editing by William James and Kate Holton)
Frequently Asked Questions about Britain’s Guardian group agrees to sell Observer newspaper to Tortoise Media
1What is the Scott Trust?
The Scott Trust is the owner of the Guardian Media Group, which oversees the operations of The Guardian and The Observer newspapers in the UK.
2What is Tortoise Media?
Tortoise Media is a startup news organization founded in 2019, focusing on slower, more in-depth journalism and has recently acquired The Observer newspaper.
3What is a minority stake?
A minority stake refers to owning less than 50% of a company's shares, which allows an investor to have a say in company decisions without controlling it.
4What is funding in the context of startups?
Funding refers to the capital raised by a startup to support its operations, growth, and development, often sourced from investors or venture capital.
5What is an editorial board?
An editorial board is a group of individuals responsible for overseeing the editorial content of a publication, ensuring it aligns with the publication's standards and goals.
