The Nottingham & Long Eaton Topper is a free newspaper located in West Bridgford, Nottingham.
Map of Nottingham, UK
It is Britain's largest circulating independent weekly newspaper with a distribution in excess of 211,000 copies a week (verified by the Audit Bureau of Circulation). Established by free newspaper pioneer Lionel Pickering in 1994, The Topper contains a wide variety of advertisements in addition to editorial items and has its own website, www.toppernewspapers.co.uk, which is believed to be the first newspaper website featuring a 'page flip' feature enabling users to effectively flick through the paper online at the click of a mouse. The Topper is unique in that during a time of overall decline for the newspaper industry both locally and nationally, it has actually managed to grow and attract many new advertisers.
The Topper goes to more homes than any publication across the Greater Nottingham and Long Eaton areas and has established itself as the region's main weekly newspaper.
On August 19, 2011, it was announced by the Trust managing the Topper’s operation that it was in talks to sell the title, the only freesheet remaining in the area following the closure of the Recorder series, to rival Northcliffe.
A Northcliffe spokesman said, "The Nottingham Post Media Group has entered into negotiations to acquire the Nottingham and Long Eaton Topper. There are a number of commercial and legal matters to be resolved which we are working through with the owners and the management of the Topper. Provided these can be agreed on, we would hope to close the deal later this year."
Group managing director Steve Auckland added: "We believe the Topper would make an excellent addition to the Nottingham Post business and provide an excellent portfolio with the Post for advertisers seeking to attract consumers in Nottingham."
The latest figures from the Audit Bureau of Circulation show the Topper has a weekly circulation of 212,793.