Article · Wikipedia archive · Last revised May 30, 2026

Tindle

The Tindle Group is a British multimedia company operating regional newspapers and radio stations across the United Kingdom. It was owned by the Tindle family for over 70 years. Founder Sir Ray Tindle retired in 2017 and was succeeded by his son, Owen Tindle, and died in 2022. The company was sold to a joint venture formed by Iliffe Media Group and the Fowler family in 2026.

Last revised
May 30, 2026
Read time
≈ 2 min
Length
571 w
Citations
12
Source
Wikipedia ↗
Tindle Group
Company type
Private
IndustryMedia
Founded1950s
HeadquartersFarnham, Surrey
Area served
Key people
Number of employees
250
Divisions
Websitewww.tindlenews.co.uk

The Tindle Group is a British multimedia company operating regional newspapers and radio stations across the United Kingdom.1 It was owned by the Tindle family for over 70 years. Founder Sir Ray Tindle retired in 2017 and was succeeded by his son, Owen Tindle,2 and died in 2022.3 The company was sold to a joint venture formed by Iliffe Media Group and the Fowler family in 2026.

Newspapers

The Tindle newspaper empire started out in the 1950s, when Sir Ray Tindle acquired the Tooting & Balham Gazette with his £300 demob payment after his time serving during the Second World War.4

At the company's peak, Tindle Newspapers owned and operated more than 220 local titles.

The following is a partial list of newspapers owned by the company:5

In 2019, Tindle Newspaper Group closed four of their local newspapers.7

Radio stations

In the 1970s, Sir Ray Tindle was an early investor in Capital.8 In 1998, he sold back his shares in the company to buy Island FM in Guernsey, the first local station to form part of the Tindle group.

The company continued to grow and acquire a dozen stations in England and Wales. Tindle sold its UK radio assets to Anglian Radio in a management buyout in 2013. The stations were then sold on to Celador and later Bauer.9

Tindle continues to own and operate Island FM, as well as Channel 103 in Jersey, Midlands 103 in Ireland, and Soleil Radio which broadcasts across the Channel Islands.10

Criticism

In 2003, as the Iraq War started, the owner of the Tindle Newspaper Group, Sir Ray Tindle, issued an order to his newspapers that they could no longer cover anti-war protests.11 This decision was controversial and was attacked as censorship by a number of commentators, including the National Union of Journalists General Secretary Jeremy Dear.12

References

References

  1. "Tindle Newspaper Group". Hold the Front Page. Retrieved 16 February 2012.
  2. Sharman, David (17 July 2017). "Owen Tindle succeeds father Sir Ray as Tindle chairman – Journalism News from HoldtheFrontPage". HoldtheFrontPage. Retrieved 26 July 2024.
  3. "Sir Ray Tindle, former News Letter owner, dies at age of 95". Belfast News Letter. 17 April 2022. Retrieved 18 April 2022.
  4. "History". tindlenews.co.uk. Tindle Newspapers Ltd. Archived from the original on 18 July 2019.
  5. "News Brands". tindlenews.co.uk. Tindle Press Holdings Ltd. Retrieved 14 August 2021.
  6. "Tindle Newspapers purchases Woking News & Mail". InPublishing. 4 October 2022. Retrieved 20 December 2022.
  7. "Tindle Newspapers closes Essex-based Yellow Advertiser series". 26 June 2019.
  8. "History". Tindle Newspapers Ltd. Archived from the original on 18 July 2019.
  9. "Celador Radio takes control of Anglian Radio". RadioToday. 19 January 2017.
  10. "Our Brands". Tindle Radio.
  11. Full text of article in Totnes Times
  12. Too Late For Debate?
External links