Reach has confirmed it is in the “early stages” of talks to buy “certain assets” from JPI Media, publisher of the i paper and The Scotsman.

JPI Media said last month it had appointed a financial adviser to “better assess the current and future prospects for the business and its titles”.

Reach, the UK’s largest news publisher which owns the Mirror, Express and Star titles as well as a number of regional dailies including the Manchester Evening News, did not give specifics on what assets it is eyeing.