VC Competitive Capital in Hong Kong has announced it has agreed to acquire a significant stake in the Allied Newspaper Group; also based out of Hong Kong. The deal represents a lifeline for the stricken online news and sports publishing group which just last month saw its UK operation close with staff owed payments.
“This is the positive result of many months of pain,” declared Allied Newspapers part-owner, Dominic Wightman, yesterday from London. “I would just like to thank those staff and contractors who have been very patient with Allied and those who have behaved in a respectable and tolerant manner from when the UK office hit trouble back in the summer.
One would expect teething problems with a new media group, which we only launched back in the autumn of 2012. However, recent months have been a huge strain on us all and I am very glad that we can now begin to put that period behind us and work with Competitive to fund the group properly, up readership and really establish the Allied brands across our chosen interest sectors.”
The deal – for an undisclosed sum – sees Wightman continue as a major group shareholder while Competitive has a significant stake in the global news operation which is based out of Cebu in the Philippines under the management of Dion Montoya.
Allied Newspapers includes flagship titles such as The New York Daily Sun, Hong Kong Morning Star and The Football Magazine.
Wightman has no plans to revive the UK office of the group following on from its office closure in Surrey in the United Kingdom in September 2013. “The focus now is on consolidating the Philippines operations and building satellite offices in various locations but the UK is certainly not one of those first-round locations,” confirmed Wightman. “We have made some good personnel choices over the last year and one very bad one; who our lawyers will be dealing with for many months to come. Unfortunately talent is easier to come by abroad.”
It is understood that Allied unknowingly hired a fascist as a contractor content writer in the summer of 2013. Although none of the bigot’s views ever reached it onto the content pages of any of Allied’s newspapers – thanks to editorial checks and balances – it only came to light just how unpleasant and irreproachable the content writer’s views were when staff members complained about the fascist’s racist and repugnant statements in the UK office. Extraordinarily the fascist went on to feed a pack of lies to a far left wing blogger who, in spite of knowing he was working with an anti-Semitic fascist, continued all the same. The consequences are ongoing libel actions and Allied’s continued refusal to pay a final contractor payment directly to the content writer.
“Let’s just say that the flea is off the coat,” states Wightman, ruefully. “Fortunately there are lawyers and courts to sort out these kinds of minor vicissitudes. We are glad to have seen the back of this particular weirdo. In fact let’s just say we’ve been rejoicing since he left. We owe him a month’s fees but refused to pay him directly so asked him to get a county court judgement against us, which he went out and did even though he refused to recognise the UK court as it belonged to the Queen. Of course we will respect that civil judgement. There are two others owed a month or two but otherwise we’re up to speed. As for the far-left wing blogger – let’s just say there are some really ugly losers on planet earth who you’d hope would get themselves a life and actually contribute something to society. He’s a well-known troll. Alas, they never learn; meanwhile they sponge off the rest of us and snipe at the risk-takers. It must be awful having no accomplishments in life. Meanwhile, we look forward to their humiliating public apology and being awarded their malodorous house to settle court fees.”
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