Independent News & Media Plc. said today that the announcement on the sale of its loss making London newspapers, The Independent and The Independent on Sunday, can come within 24 hours.

Gavin O'Reilly, chief executive of INM said today that the discussions of selling the newspapers to the Russian billionaire Alexander Lebedev continue and there will be a decision very soon on it. Independent News & Media Plc entered into the advanced talks with Alexander Lebedev, a former KGB spy, over the takeover of The Independent and The Independent on Sunday last December.

INM provided this information while releasing its annual results for FY 2009. INM reported a pretax loss of €31.4 million for the year ended December 31, 2009.

The advertising revenues of The Independent and The Independent on Sunday were reported down by 33% in FY 2009. Total revenue of the group was reported of €1.25 billion, declining by 15% compared to FY 2009.

The revenue in its UK operation was reported of €122.7 million, decreasing by 21%. However, Independent News & Media Plc also said it expects an improvement on operating profit in 2010.

Mr. O'Reilly said that selling the London newspapers would allow the group to focus on overseas markets such as Northern Ireland and the Irish Republic, New Zealand and South Africa.