JOHNSTON Press has disposed of its East Anglia and East Midlands titles, marking a “major milestone” for the Edinburgh publisher.
The group, which owns The Scotsman and i, has sold 13 titles to Iliffe Media for £17 million in cash, subject to shareholder approval.
The net proceeds of the deal will reduce the group’s debt to £122m.
The deal, first announced on November 14, represents a 5.3x multiple of recent operating profits.
Ashley Highfield, chief executive of Johnston Press said: “This disposal marks a major milestone in our divestment strategy and puts us firmly on the path of refocusing our activities on areas with the greatest growth potential.”
Johnston Press had told the stock exchange in January that it had identified a number of assets that were not deemed to be strategic priorities. And in July, the group sold its portfolio of Isle of Man titles to local publisher Tindle Newspapers for £4.3m.
With regards to the East Anglia and East Midlands portfolio, the company said that the distinct and geographically contained locations of the business meant that the disposal can be effected with less disruption and cost.
For the 26 weeks to 2 July 2016, combined revenue at the titles was £5.5m and they contributed a £1.6m underlying operating profit to the group in that period.
Total group revenue over the same period was £114 million and underlying losses were £211m.
Shares in the company jumped 15 per cent to 13.5p, but remain down more than 70 per cent on the price at the start of the year.
Johnston Press earlier this year for a total of GBP24.0 million.
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