Five of the UKs major newspaper companies have agreed to fund a unified platform for ad buying and selling, in an effort to create a technology bridge between agency and publisher platforms that provides a single shared point of reference across the transaction process.

The Publisher Advertising Transaction System (PATS) will be funded by News UK, Mail Newspapers, Telegraph Media Group, Guardian Media Group and ESI Media, and has been backed by the IPA Media Futures Group, the professional body for UK marketing communications agencies. It will be fully compatible with all existing agency platforms such as Adazzle, Prisma and Mediaocean, who will be developing the system.

“The way our readers consume news in print and on mobile devices is evolving rapidly,” said David Pemsel, deputy chief executive of Guardian News & Media. “Today over 40 per cent of the Guardians digital content is accessed via mobiles and tablets, and this percentage is growing. We therefore believe it is critical that we deliver a seamless advertising buying and selling experience.”

PATS will be rolled out across the national newspapers early in 2015, and will be extended to include magazine and local newspapers publishers. The platform will streamline transactions and invoicing between publishers and agencies for all newsbrand platforms, and provide both sides with real-time information.

“There is a real appetite for a system that improves efficiencies for publishers and agencies and we are delighted that three of the biggest agency groups are working with us,” said Rufus Olins, CEO of Newsworks, the marketing body for national newsbrands. “You could say this platform is overdue but arriving as it does now, it will offer access to toal audiences, across al platforms, and make life much simpler. It is good to see the newspaper industry collaborating on this important issue.”