Entrepreneur raises stakes in Johnston Press battle

Mr Ager-Hanssen now owns more 25% of Johnston Press shares

Johnston Press's biggest shareholder has launched a scathing attack on the board of the troubled newspaper group.

Norwegian entrepreneur Christen Ager-Hanssen accused the board of mismanagement as his private equity firm Custos raised its shareholding from about 20% to more than 25%.

Last week Johnston Press, whose titles include the 'i', the Yorkshire Post and The Scotsman, put itself up for sale.

A decline in advertising revenues has seen the value of its titles fall.

In a statement, Mr Ager-Hanssen - who owns Sweden's version of the Metro newspaper - said that the board continued to do "nothing more than rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic", adding that the increased shareholding would allow Custos "to be more active".

He said: "Custos obviously have no confidence in the board or its advisers but our increased holding proves that we continue to have confidence in the underlying business.

"Employees, at all levels, have been reaching out to me from within JP, excited by the prospect of change and offering Custos their support.

"They crave new leadership and a proper forward thinking strategy fit for the digital age."

The digital entrepreneur began to push the board last October, but stopped when he found a "poison pill" defence against hostile takeovers - a clause in bond-funding that would require repayment of its large debt if there was a change of boardroom control.

On Friday, the publisher's share price settled at 2.25p, although shares this week have dropped as low as 1.25p.

'Sale process continues'

Responding to the latest development, a spokesman for Johnston Press said: "We launched the formal sale process last week so that interested parties could make offers for the company.

"That process continues and remains our focus."

There had been speculation that the company could be sold after it launched a strategic review in 2017.

Johnston Press has £220m of borrowing due for repayment in June next year.

The publisher is one of the largest local and regional newspaper organisations in the UK.

It has titles covering more than 200 locations from Scotland and Northern Ireland to the south of England.