Publishing giants News UK and Trinity Mirror have dealt newsagents a double blow of newspaper price rises and slashed margins this week.

Retailer margins will be cut on Express and Star newspapers from 24.2% to 22.5% for weekday publications, and to 21% for weekend newspapers.

The price of Monday to Friday copies of the Daily Express will jump 5p to 60p a copy.  

The Saturday Express will cost 90p and the Sunday edition rises to £1.50. Monday to Friday editions of the Daily Star will increase by 10p to 40p. Saturday editions will cost 50p and the price of the Daily Star Sunday will go from 90p to £1.

Meanwhile, News UK confirmed to RN that the Saturday Times cover price will rise to £1.90 from 7 April, with the retailer margin falling from 21.5% to 21%.

Eugene Diamond of Diamond’s Newsagents in Ballymena said: “This will hit us twice financially – carriage charges will also increase as a result, because they’re based on turnover.”

NFRN news operations committee chairman John Parkinson said: “I do not, for one moment, believe that the money that comes from these rises will be reinvested in the product.”