More speculation as Indy move delayed

Staff at Tony O'Reilly's beleagured Independent group of newspapers have been told that their move to the Daily Mail's offices at Kensington from their current home in the shadow of the Canary Wharf tower has been put on hold until April.

They were due to move in the next few days, with editor Roger Alton (pictured) and his team moving into an empty floor in the Mail building. The delay has intensified the speculation that they are in negotiation to sell the Indy titles to the Mail, which sees a possible “fit” between the morning daily and the London Evening Standard.

Simon Kelner, the group editor-in-chief, has also put on hold deciding who will be granted voluntary redundancy. He asked for 90 across the titles, including 60 from editorial. Around 43 have volunteered from the editorial ranks including, it is said, the outstanding health editor, Jeremy Laurence, but signs are that not all will get it. This has further fuelled fears of compulsory redundancies.

O'Reilly last week was forced to allow his prized Waterford Wedgwood company to go into liquidation at a rumoured personal loss of around £140 million from a personal fortune estimated at £950m. That was seen by some as the writing on the wall for the loss-making Independent.