Though early editions purported editorial independence, Bourne attempted to cut his losses and sell the title to the government.

When this failed, Bourne's brother (a wealthy businessman) made an offer to the government, which also refused to buy the paper but agreed to subsidise it in return for influence over its editorial content.

Seven years later, the brothers sold The Observer to William Innell Clement, a newspaper proprietor who owned a number of publications.

[citation needed] After Doxat retired in 1857, Clement's heirs sold the paper to Joseph Snowe, who also took over the editor's chair.

[citation needed] In 1870, wealthy businessman Julius Beer bought the paper and appointed Edward Dicey as editor, whose efforts succeeded in reviving circulation.

Though Beer's son Frederick became the owner upon Julius's death in 1880, he had little interest in the newspaper and was content to leave Dicey as editor until 1889.

[citation needed] Henry Duff Traill took over the editorship after Dicey's departure, only to be replaced in 1891 by Frederick's wife, Rachel Beer,[9] of the Sassoon family.

In 1911, William Waldorf Astor was approached by James Louis Garvin, the editor of The Observer, about purchasing the newspaper from Northcliffe.

He remained in the position for 27 years, during which time he turned it into a trust-owned newspaper employing, among others, George Orwell, Paul Jennings and C. A. Lejeune.

[citation needed] It became part of the Guardian Media Group in June 1993, after a rival acquisition bid by The Independent was rejected.

An article on the paper's website previewing the new version stated that "The News section, which will incorporate Business and personal finance, will be home to a new section, Seven Days, offering a complete round-up of the previous week's main news from Britain and around the world, and will also focus on more analysis and comment.

"[21] In July 2021, Ofcom announced that The Guardian continued to be the UK's most widely used newspaper website and app for news and had increased its audience share by 1% over the preceding year.