Auto Trader cash shores up lossmaking Guardian

The owner of The Guardian is poised to relieve some of the pressure on its finances by collecting a £45 million dividend from its stake in car advertising business Auto Trader.

Guardian Media Group and joint owner Apax Partners are understood to be sharing a £90 million divi from Trader Media Group.

This will be the second divi the owners have taken in four months following a £110 million windfall in August. The payout is a combination of new cash raised through the recent refinancing of TMG's debt and cash already in the company.

The double payout means GMG has collected a total of £100 million, which will be welcome as The Guardian and The Observer slumped £44 million into the red last year and face further losses.

Trader Media's owners were able to renegotiate with lenders because the group has successfully adapted to the digital age. Around 90% of profits come from online and mobile.

TMG had net debt of £511 million in April. It is understood that holding back some of the dividend until now was a condition of the refinancing.

Apax bought a half share in Trader Media from GMG in 2007, valuing the company at £1.3 billion. The joint owners considered a £2 billion stock market float this year to raise funds but took on more debt instead.

GMG and Apax suffered a big writedown on another joint venture, magazines group Emap, last year.