New ownership for Innisfil, New Tecumseth newspapers

New Tecumseth Free Press Online December 15, 2010
Simcoe-York Printing and Publishing Limited (SYP) has been sold to the London Publishing Corp (LPC), the group announced on the front pages of its Wednesday newspapers this morning.
The deal for SYP, which until now was owned by Bruce Haire and John Archibald, also includes their shares in Caledon Publishing Limited which has its office in Bolton.

LPC gets the New Tecumseth Times, the King Township Sentinel, the Innisfil Scope, the Caledon Citizen and two quarterly magazines – Tapestry and Footprints. Not part of the deal is Mr. Haire, who was elected as the Ward 7 New Tecumseth councillor in October, and Mr. Archibald retain ownership of their building at 34 Main Street in Beeton. It’s reported that LPC will take back a five year lease to continue its operations.
Mr. Archibald will remain publisher for up to a year, and Mr. Haire has been retained as “a part-time contributor and consultant.”
Below is an excerpt of the front page announcement:
Neither the newspapers’ names nor the companies’ names will change.
“It will be status quo for everything connected to running the businesses, at least for the time being” a company spokesman stated. “All employees will be retained and we will continue to operate out of Beeton and Bolton.”
“The partnership started in 1974 and they incorporated in 1976. The first paper was the Beeton Record and in the fall of 1974 the Schomberg Sentinel was born. After that came the Tottenham Times and in 1982 they purchased the Innisfil Scope.
That same year Caledon Publishing Limited was born and they started publishing the Caledon Citizen. The principals of that company were Tom and Pam Claridge, Archibald and Haire.
In 2000 the Schomberg Sentinel became the King Township Sentinel covering 100 per cent of households in King Township.
The company’s next move was to combine the Beeton Record with the Tottenham Times and in 2006 the name of the two papers was changed to the New Tecumseth Times.
SYP has continued to grow since its inception in 1976 having started in a small one room office at 16 Main Street, West, in Beeton. It then moved to the plaza at 60 Main Street into what is now the Beeton Post Office.
Following that Archibald and Haire purchased the old town hall at 34 Main Street, West, at Beeton and moved the business there in 1986.
SYP has 16 employees and CPL has five employees. There are many other stringers, casuals and correspondents.”
Until this sale, SYP was one of the few remaining small newspaper chains independently locally owned and operated. The Alliston Herald is owned by Metroland, a division of Torstar (Toronto Star).

We’ve been sold
The Scope’s parent company is purchased by London Publishing
Innisfil Scope December 15 2010
Simcoe-York Printing and Publishing Limited has been sold
The local newspaper publishing and commercial printing enterprise, with its office in Beeton, has been obtained by London Publishing Corporation. The final deal was signed Dec. 10.
Negotiations have been going on since August.
The previous owners of SYP, Bruce Haire and John Archibald, sold their entire shares in the company, and also shares of Caledon Publishing Limited, which has its office in Bolton.
The two publishing companies publish the New Tecumseth Times, the King Township Sentinel, the Innisfil Scope and the Caledon Citizen weekly. SYP also publishes two quarterly magazines, Tapestry and Footprints.
The names of the newspapers, and company, will remain the same.
“It will be status quo for everything connected to running the businesses, at least for the time being,” a company spokesman stated. “All employees will be retained and we will continue to operate out of Beeton and Bolton.”
The Archibald and Haire families will retain the building at 34 Main Street West in Beeton. It was not part of the sale. London Publishing has leased the premises for five years.
Archibald has been hired as publisher on a one-year contract, with an option to stay on longer if he so wishes. He jokingly told his employees when he made the announcement Friday that the good news was the business had been sold, but the bad news was that they would have to put up with him for at least another year.
Haire has been retained as a part-time contributor and consultant.
Archibald said he is in his 70th year, and although he is in good health, it is time to start to slow down. He, and his wife Anne, would like to travel and spend more time with family. Haire has not been in the best of health for a number of years and has wanted to sell for some time. He and his wife Mary are overjoyed by the sale.
The partnership started in 1974, and they incorporated in 1976. The first paper was the Beeton Record, and in the fall of 1974, the Schomberg Sentinel was born. After that came the Tottenham Times, and in 1982, they purchased The Scope. That same year, Caledon Publishing was born, and they started producing the Caledon Citizen. The principals of that company were Tom and Pam Claridge, Archibald and Haire.
In 2000, the Schomberg Sentinel became the King Township Sentinel, covering 100 per cent of households in King Township. The company’s next move was to combine the Beeton Record with the Tottenham Times, and in 2006, the name of the two papers was changed to the New Tecumseth Times.
SYP has continued to grow since its inception in 1976, having started in a small, one room office at 16 Main Street West in Beeton. It then moved to the plaza at 60 Main Street, into what is now the Beeton Post Office.
Following that, Archibald and Haire purchased the old town hall at 34 Main Street, West in Beeton, and moved the business there in 1986.
SYP has 16 employees and CPL has five employees. There are many other stringers, casuals and correspondents.