Johnston Press agrees €550m financing deal

JOHNSTON Press, the owner of the Limerick Leader and Kilkenny People, has negotiated a three-year £485 million (€550m) financing deal, as pre-tax profits fell 56% to £27.5m in the first six months of the year.

The Edinburgh-based publisher, which has net debt of £424m, also offered share warrants over 5% of the company’s share capital.

Chief financial officer, Stuart Paterson, said: “Although it puts up the cost of our debt, it’s good to have the uncertainty out of the way.