Daily Express websites to close

Four websites sold by the Daily Express last month for a total of £1 will be put into liquidation later today after failing to attract a buyer.

The websites - Express.co.uk, Sportlive.co.uk, Companyleader.com and Allaboutparents.com - were suspended last month after Express owner Richard Desmond sold the sites to financial advisors Seymour Price Investments (SPI).

SPI had hoped to sell the sites on as going concerns, but with no rescue materialising it will now appoint accountancy firm HLB Kidsons as liquidator.

An SPI spokesman said that 46 staff working on the websites, which are reported to have cost between £7m and £8m a year to run, will lose their jobs. A notice on the Express.co.uk site posted in December said that staff were hopeful that the sites would reopen.

A spokesman for HLB Kidsons said: "The directors of SPI sought administration for the companies but regretfully there are no prospects of them being able to be saved and they will go into liquidation."

Allaboutparents.com, which launched in August last year, offered information, advice and entertainment for parents. Companyleader.com was aimed at owner/managers of growing businesses.