Johnston Press’s interim chairman has called in financial experts to try and help the business out of mounting debts.
According to a report in The Telegraph, Camilla Rhodes – an ex-senior executive of Rupert Murdoch’s UK newspaper business – has asked financial advisory group Rothschild to look at refinancing options for the struggling publisher, which currently owes £220 million in bonds that are due to mature in 2019.
This month Johnston Press, which has a current market capital of less than £20 million, sold 13 of its East Anglia and East Midlands titles to Iliffe Media for £17 million.
Chief executive Ashley Highfield said the disposal will help to put Johnston Press on “a stronger footing” and reduce net debt, after the publisher revised down the value of its titles by £217 million in its half-year results in August.
