JPIMedia

JPIMedia Ltd is a multimedia company founded in 2018 that took over the assets of Johnston Press following the sale of the company to its creditors.

JPIMedia Ltd
TypePrivate company
IndustryNewspapers
PredecessorJohnston Press (1769–2018)
Founded2018 (2018)
Headquarters1 King William Street
London, England, UK
SubsidiariesFull list
Websitewww.jpimedia.co.uk

Its flagship titles include The Scotsman, the Yorkshire Post, the Falkirk Herald and Belfast's The News Letter. The company operates around 200 newspapers and associated websites around the United Kingdom.[1]

From January 2021, the company will be acquired by National World plc.[2][3][4][5]

Formation

On 17 November 2018, a spokesperson for Johnston Press announced that all its titles had been transferred to the control of JPIMedia, a special purpose vehicle (SPV), owned by the creditors. Under the terms of the pre-packaged deal, ownership passed to a consortium of four lenders – CarVal, Fidelity, Benefit Street Partners and Goldentree Asset Management – who reduced its debts to £85 million and injected £35 million investment.[6] This however was subject to criticism by Johnston Press's largest shareholder, described as a "blatant pre-planned corporate theft by bondholders", and was raised in Parliament.[7]

2019 asset sales

It was reported in May 2019, that a group of bondholders led by GoldenTree Asset Management has appointed bankers at Stella EOC to lay the groundwork for a potential sale of part, or all, of the business.[8]

In July 2019, it was confirmed that a sale process of JPIMedia was taking place.[9][10]

Reach plc were said to be "early stages" of talks to buy "certain assets" from JPI Media.[11] In November 2019, it was announced that the i had been sold to Daily Mail and General Trust.[12]

In February 2020, it was announced that JPIMedia are no longer exploring a sale of their assets excluding the sale of the i which is subject to regulatory approval. [13]

Sale to National World

On 31 December 2020, it was announced that JPIMedia Publishing Ltd and its subsidiaries was being sold to National World plc on 2 January 2021. The new company was set up by the media executive David Montgomery.[14][15]

Operations
JPIMedia owns many local and regional newspapers across the UK, such as the Yorkshire Evening Post
JPIMedia owns one of Scotland's national titles, The Scotsman

Newspapers in Great Britain

The following is a partial list of British newspapers owned by the company:[16]

Newspapers in Northern Ireland

JPIMedia publishes a total of 22 titles in Northern Ireland through two holding companies, JPIMedia NI and Derry Journal Newspapers. The geographic readership of some titles extends across the Irish border into the Republic of Ireland, such as the Derry Journal which also covers County Donegal. Former JPIMedia titles published in the Republic of Ireland now belong to Iconic Newspapers.[19][16]

Online

The company owns the following websites, in addition to newspaper sites as above, and regionalised versions of these:

  • [www.jpimedialocal.co.uk/ www.jpimedialocal.co.uk]
  • [www.jobstoday.co.uk/ www.jobstoday.co.uk]

References
  1. Sweney, Mark (2018-11-16). "Owner of the Scotsman and i newspapers enters administration". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Archived from the original on 2018-12-10. Retrieved 2018-12-14.
  2. Casci, Mark (31 December 2020). "Yorkshire Post owner JPIMedia sold to National World for £10.2m". The Yorkshire Post. Retrieved 1 January 2021.
  3. Ponsford, Dominic (31 December 2020). "Monty's back: JPI Media sold to David Montgomery's Local World Plc for £10.2m". Press Gazette. Retrieved 1 January 2021.
  4. Sharman, David (31 December 2020). "JPIMedia unveils National World as new owner". Hold the Front Page. Retrieved 1 January 2021.
  5. Symon, Ken (31 December 2020). "The Scotsman publisher sold to veteran industry player's group". Scottish Business Insider. Retrieved 1 January 2021.
  6. Doward, Jamie (17 November 2018). "Johnston Press: rescue plan for Scotsman newspaper group". The Guardian. Retrieved 18 November 2018.
  7. "Johnston Press buyout debated in the Commons - News from Parliament". UK Parliament. 19 November 2018. Retrieved 19 November 2018.
  8. Woods, Ben (May 26, 2019). "Scotsman owner JPI Media puts papers on the block" – via www.thetimes.co.uk.
  9. "JPI Media 'in talks' to sell newspapers like the i and Yorkshire Post". July 8, 2019.
  10. "Hedge funds in talks to sell i and regional newspapers". Sky News.
  11. "Express owner eyes deal for Scotsman". Independent.ie.
  12. "Daily Mail owner buys i newspaper for £50m". 29 November 2019 – via www.bbc.com.
  13. https://www.holdthefrontpage.co.uk/2020/news/jpimedia-boss-says-company-no-longer-actively-exploring-sale/
  14. Symon, Ken (31 December 2020). "The Scotsman publisher sold to veteran industry player's group". businessInsider. Retrieved 31 December 2020.
  15. "Yorkshire Post owner JPIMedia sold to National World". www.yorkshirepost.co.uk. Retrieved 31 December 2020.
  16. "News Brands". jpimedia.co.uk. JPIMedia Ltd. Retrieved 20 February 2019.
  17. Our Business: Johnston (Falkirk) Ltd, Johnston Press plc Archived 17 July 2011 at the Wayback Machine
  18. "Paisley & Renfrewshire Extra (defunct) | British Newspapers Online".
  19. "Johnston Press sells its 14 titles in the Republic". Irish Times. Archived from the original on 9 April 2014. Retrieved 22 August 2014.
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