The UK regional press is far less competitive than the national market; indeed, local newspaper monopolies are the norm (if free papers are discounted). According to Keynote (2010) the top ten regional newspaper publishers in January 2010 were:
Table 2. Top 10 regional newspaper publishers in 2010
| Rank | Publisher Group | No. of titles | Weekly circulation |
| 1 | Trinity Media | 134 | 9,581,662 |
| 2 | Johnstone Press | 284 | 7,949,205 |
| 3 | Newsquest Media Group | 191 | 7,148,470 |
| 4 | Northcliffe Media (part of the Daily Express group) | 129 | 6,609,588 |
| 5 | Associated Newspapers (part of the Daily Mail group) | 1 | 3,672,810 |
| 6 | Archant | 62 | 1,971,219 |
| 7 | Guardian Media Group | 40 | 1,968,117 |
| 8 | DC Thomson & Company | 6 | 1,729,691 |
| 9 | The Midlands News Association | 17 | 1,723,353 |
| 10 | Tindle Newspaper | 68 | 1,252,984 |
Source: Data from Keynote 2010.12
The continuing long-term trend was for the sector to become even more concentrated. In February 2009, Guardian Media Group sold its regional newspapers – except for two in Surrey – to Trinity Mirror PLC.
