Deadline set for sale of newspaper titles

The owners of the i newspaper and hundreds of regional titles – including the Yorkshire Post – are in talks about a break-up and sale of assets, according to reports.

Sky News has reported that JPIMedia and its advisers have set a deadline for preliminary offers for papers including The Yorkshire Post.

According to reports today, the first stage of an auction of the company comes weeks after JPIMedia’s chief executive, David King, told staff that it was not engaged in a “formal sales process”.

It comes after the newspaper group previously trading as Johnston Press was bought out of administration in a pre-pack deal last November.

JPIMedia bought the company after it put itself up for sale last month. Following the deal, Johnston Press said “most staff” would keep their jobs. Johnston Press was under pressure after revealing it had to pay back loans of £220m in June of next year.

JPIMedia have been contacted for a comment.