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Saleem Bhatti, arguably one of the most high-profile members of the Manchester media community, has been made redundant from his position at the helm of the city’s Metro sales outfit. It appears as if the operation will now be managed from Associated’s London HQ.
Bhatti has been at the Metro since 2001 and was generally regarded as the ‘face’ of the free-sheet throughout Manchester’s media circles. He joined the team in January that year after the Express took the controversial decision to close its regional sales office, where he was Northern ad director. At the time that move was widely derided as showing a disregard for the local media community in favour of saving costs – an impression, some observers say, that the Metro is now recreating with Bhatti’s dismissal. Grant Woodthorpe, the executive sales director for Metro, could not be reached at the time of writing, but it appears as though the facts of the matter – to How-Do’s knowledge – are as such: Bhatti’s position as ‘head of trading North’ has been made redundant and as a result he reportedly left the offices on Friday. The sales for Manchester will now be handled by three account managers, apparently reporting directly to Metro’s HQ at Northcliffe House. A source close to the paper said that this was not a presage for a complete centralisation of the outfit and that ‘the office will continue as before, just without Sal.’ The Manchester operation is Metro’s only out of London sales base. The insider added: “Sal’s made way after prolonged discussions and I think the move has come as a bit of a blow. He’s been an important part of building the Metro brand in the city, so it’s a great shame to see him go.”How-Do believes that Bhatti has yet to obtain a new role in the industry, but is “actively looking forward to a fresh challenge” in the very near future. The Metro has expanded its reach within the city in recent months, boosting circulation by around 10,000 copies, and now boasts an overall national readership of around 2.2million. Grant Woodthorpe took the position of executive sales director in July this year, taking responsibility for all of the paper’s sales activity, including planning and digital. He was previously trading director at the title. Something to add? Then leave a comment below or email us now.
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