London Evening Standard to close daily paper after almost 200 years

London's Evening Standard has announced plans to shut its daily newspaper and replace it with a news weekly, bringing an end to almost 200 years of publication in the capital.

- Jim Waterson

The newspaper said it has been hit hard by the introduction of wifi on the London Underground, a shortage of commuters owing to the growth of working from home and changing consumer habits.

The Standard lost £84.5m in the past six years, according to its accounts, and is reliant on funding from its part-owner Evgeny Lebedev. Its other shareholders include a bank with close links to the Saudi government. Industry sources suggested in recent years Lebedev had been willing to consider selling the outlet, which will remain online, but no buyer was found.

Paul Kanareck, the newspaper's chair, told staff yesterday morning: "The substantial losses accruing from the current operations are not sustainable. Therefore, we plan to consult with our staff and external stakeholders to reshape the business, return to profitability and secure the long-term future of the number one news brand in London." He said the company planned to launch "a brand new weekly newspaper later this year and consider options for retaining ES Magazine with reduced frequency", with the focus shifting to increasing its website audience.

Kanareck said there would be an "impact on staffing", with journalists bracing themselves for further job losses on top of years of redundancies, while design staff on the print edition are expected to be hit hard.

Distributors who hand out the newspaper across London are also likely to be out of work, and billboards outside railway stations advertising the day's headline will stand empty on most days.