The growing success of The Independent's compact edition has been underlined by the latest official monthly circulation figures, published yesterday. The daily average sale of The Independent in November climbed to 240,326, a rise of 8.5 per cent on the same period last year.

All other titles in the quality market registered year-on-year losses - The Times was down 9.6 per cent, The Daily Telegraph was down 5.0 per cent and The Guardian 4.6 per cent - giving The Independent a market share of 11.1 per cent. This represents the paper's highest market share since June 1996.

In November, the average daily sale of the compact edition, which is available from Monday to Friday in London, the Meridian TV area and the North-west, was 47,568. For the month of October, this figure was 30,520.

In the new year, the compact edition will be extended to other parts of the country.

Ivan Fallon, chief executive of Independent News and Media (UK), said yesterday: "The success of the compact edition continues to exceed all our expectations. We are particularly pleased to have grown so substantially our share of the quality newspaper market and would like to thank our readers, new and old."

Source: Audit Bureau of Circulation