'Independent' sales continue to increase

The Independent continues to go from strength to strength, with yesterday's release of the audited circulation figures for October showing the 13th consecutive month of sales increases.

The Independent continues to go from strength to strength, with yesterday's release of the audited circulation figures for October showing the 13th consecutive month of sales increases.

In October, the average daily sale of The Independent increased to 266,038. This represents the highest total sale of the paper since September 1997, and is a rise of 13 per cent on the same period last year, the first full month when the compact version of the paper was available.

The Independent's share of the quality newspaper market has grown to 12 per cent, which is its highest mark for nine years.

The Independent on Sunday has also continued to show circulation growth, with October's sale of 214,323 representing the third consecutive month of sales increases. With a year-on-year rise of 1.7 per cent, The Independent on Sunday was the only quality Sunday newspaper to show an increase on the same period last year.

Ivan Fallon, chief executive of Independent News and Media (UK), said yesterday: "The launch of our new Media Weekly section every Monday has underlined the sales growth that The Independent has shown ever since we launched our compact format. Core sales of the paper are still growing. We are also pleased that more and more readers are recognising the quality of The Independent on Sunday, which continues to buck the trend in the Sunday market."