Barclay twins to take control at 'Scotsman'

Fears that the Scotsman newspaper, Scotland's most prestigious broadsheet, was set to fall into English hands have proved unfounded. The reclusive, multi-millionaire Barclay Twins, who are of Scottish descent, bought the title yesterday for pounds 87m.

Frederick and David Barclay's media company, European Press Holdings, reached a final agreement with the Toronto-based Thomson Corporation, which put the Edinburgh- based paper up for sale in July, after months of negotiation. The price is still well short of the pounds 110m Thomson had been seeking.

In a related deal, Thomson yesterday accepted an offer of pounds 82m from Northcliffe Newspapers, the regional newspaper arm of Daily Mail and General Trust, for its other Scottish titles - the Aberdeen Press and Journal and the Evening Express. It has just launched a highly successful Scottish edition of the Daily Mail and has been keen to expand further into the Scottish market for some time. The deal is subject to an investigation by the Monopolies and Mergers Commission.

The Barclay twins' investment is their biggest move so far into Britain's newspaper industry. The property tycoons, whose parents were Scottish but moved to London, saved the European after the collapse of Robert Maxwell's empire, four years ago. They will take over Scotland on Sunday and the Edinburgh Evening News, as well as the 180-year-old Scotsman.

A spokesman for the Barclay brothers said they fully backed the current management and Scotsman editor, James Seaton. They planned to invest in the cash-starved title.