Yorkshire Post owner puts group up for sale

Yorkshire Post owner Johnston Press has put itself up for sale as it searches for a solution to repay a £220m loan by June.

The newspaper group, which owns the i and The Scotsman alongside a nationwide portfolio of around 200 regional and local titles, has been reviewing its financing options for the past 18 months.

However the 250-year-old company has effectively admitted defeat and is now seeking offers.

It has told the stock market that it is “not in discussions with any potential offerors”. Rothschild has been appointed to manage the sale process.

The company’s shares closed last night at 3p, giving the company a market value of just £3.4m. In 2014 its shares traded close to 400p.

The Takeover Panel of the London Stock Exhange has granted a dispensation from some parts of the Takeover Code. One consequence of that is any interested party participating in the formal sale process will not be required to be publicly identified.

Johnston Press has around 30 titless in Yorkshire, including the Yorkshire Evening Post, Harrogate Advertiser and Sheffield Star.