Johnston Press suffers “bear raid” on shares

Regional newspaper giant Johnston Press appeared to be the victim of a “bear raid” yesterday as shares plummeted 7.3 per cent to a nine-year low of 169.5p

The Financial Times today reports today that traders feared the company may be breach its debt obligations to lenders, or banking covenents, due to a downturn in the advertising industry.

The paper quotes an analyst from Numis Securities who said: “We believe the debt reduction should be relatively quick. In addition, Johnston may at non-core disposals.”

Jonathan Barrett of Kaupthing said that JP’s ad revenue would have drop 11 per cent this year for it to break its covenant.