Newspaper publisher Johnston Press considers staff pension default

Johnston Press publishes about 200 titles across the UK

Newspaper publisher Johnston Press is considering a default on its staff pension scheme.

The Edinburgh-based publisher owns The Scotsman and more than 200 other local titles across Britain.

In a statement, the company said one option it will discuss with creditors is a Regulated Apportionment Arrangement.

That would see an orderly transition of defined benefit liabilities to the Pension Protection Fund.

This is on the understanding that those who should benefit from the scheme could gain slightly more than they would if the company were to become insolvent without the arrangement.

'Extremely challenging'

But the Pensions Regulator has to be sure that a company seeking such an arrangement is not doing to avoid financial liabilities it could meet.

Johnston Press issued a trading update earlier on Tuesday, saying that it has so far failed to reach agreement with bondholders about restructuring its debt of £220m, which falls due in less than a year.

It also said advertising revenue was down 9% so far this year, and that the trading environment was "extremely challenging".

Its chief executive Ashley Highfield stood down as a director at the annual general meeting on Tuesday, withdrawing his name for re-election.

A minority of shareholders indicated their disapproval of the board through a 7% vote against all but one of the resolutions put to them.