Dutch digital publishing start-up Blendle said on Thursday it has signed a deal to sell articles from the New York Times, Wall Street Journal and the Washington Post.

The three big US publishers have given the company, launched in April 2013, a worldwide licence to sell their articles.

In October, the New York Times and the Axel Springer publishing house (Bild and Die Welt) said they were investing a combined €3m in the Dutch firm in return for a 23% stake. The aim of the investment is to build Blendle into an international brand.

Blendle allows readers to pay a few cents to read individual newspaper and magazine articles and currently works with some 50 Dutch publications. Some 225,000 people have a Blendle account – most of them in the 20 to 35 age group. They buy on average five articles a month. Blendle takes 30% of the fee.

The company, which has the equivalent of 15 full-timers on the payroll, posted a loss of €500,000 last year, the Volkskrant says.