[3] In 2000, Gannett paid £525 million for Southampton-based News Communications and Media's South Coast dailies and weeklies – and its Southernprint magazine printing division – to add to Newsquest's portfolio.

It also picked up the regional newspapers business – outside Manchester – of the Guardian Media Group, a takeover that the Competition Commission cleared as there was "no overlap, in the companies' circulation areas".

"[9] On 2 July 2007, in his blog on The Guardian's website, media analyst Roy Greenslade revealed the content of a Newsquest company memo which acknowledged that its staff pension scheme was £65 million in deficit.

[12] In March 2012, The Guardian reported the results of an indicative ballot held by the National Union of Journalists among its members at Newsquest, which found that more than 80% were prepared to strike if they were not given a pay rise within the year.

On 26 May 2015, Newsquest announced that it had acquired Romanes Media Group, a local news publishing business operating in Scotland, Berkshire and Northern Ireland, for an undisclosed sum.

[14] In July 2007, the UK's Competition Commission reported that it was investigating allegations made by SNP MP for Perth and North Perthshire Pete Wishart that Newsquest had given it misleading evidence while it was considering whether the Liberal Democrat supporting company should be permitted to take over titles from SMG.

[17] Successful union action had already led to the reinstatement on 31 July of the deputy Father (leader) of the Evening Times Chapel (office branch), Gordon Thomson,[18] while a work-to-rule had caused the cancellation of digital training planned for the following week.

"They have a long list of causes for dissatisfaction – redundancies, staffing shortages, poor working conditions and high stress levels.

It said Newsquest's programme of job cuts would harm the papers' content and put their staffs at risk and added: 'The Parliament notes that these developments are taking place despite increased profits and assurances given by Newsquest to the Competition Commission, and believes that this is to the detriment of the long term future of the titles and the Scottish newspaper industry.'