Ex-newspaper offices bought by hospitality firm

Former newspaper offices which have been been empty since staff relocated six years ago have been sold to a hospitality group.

Thomson House, in Newcastle city centre, was home to the Chronicle, Journal and Sunday Sun until 2018 when the titles moved into the nearby Eldon Square shopping centre.

Its owner, Reach plc, was granted planning permission to demolish the property and replace it with two hotels, but approval lapsed in 2022.

The company has now confirmed it has sold the site to leisure firm the Scotsman Group which it said "has a successful history of area regeneration". The group has been approached for comment.

Under plans announced by Reach (then known as ncjMedia) in July 2019 and approved by Newcastle City Council, the site, which fronts on to Groat Market, would have seen a 198-bedroom Moxy hotel and a 96-studio Residence Inn aparthotel constructed.

The cost of the deal has not been disclosed, nor the reasons why Reach did not carry through its redevelopment scheme.

Officially opened in 1965, the building was once home to hundreds of journalists, advertising staff and print workers, although numbers dwindled as newspaper sales fell sharply over the last 20 years.

When it closed its doors for the final time, employees moved to smaller offices within Eldon Square.

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