Daily Mirror publisher Reach (LON:RCH) said expected a boost in first half revenue, after acquiring rival tabloids Daily Express and the Daily Star.

First-half revenue is expected to grow by 11 percent revenue in the 26 weeks to July 1st, but on a like-for-like basis excluding the acquired assets was expected to fall by 8 percent.

Had the new assets been owned from the beginning of 2017, revenue on a like-for-like basis would have been expected to fall by 7 percent, with print declining by 9 percent but partially offset by their digital offering, growing by 5 percent.

Reach announced the £127 million deal back in February, bringing together tabloids from opposite ends of the political spectrum in an attempt to combat the declining publishing sector.

Reach confirmed that it expected full-year performance to be in line with expectations.

“We have seen some improvement in May and June driven by stronger national print advertising,” chief executive Simon Fox said.

“Following the welcome clearance by the Secretary of State, we will start the process of integrating Express & Star in order to accelerate the benefits that our combined scale will deliver.”

Shares in Reach (LON:RCH) are currently trading up 3.55 percent at 78.70 (0851GMT).