Johnston Press has confirmed it is in "late stage discussions" to buy the i newspaper for around £24m.

According to the regional publisher, The Independent's cut-price sister title recorded an unaudited operating profit of £5.2m in the year to September 2015.

In the year to September 2014, ESI Media said the Independent titles – The Independent, Independent on Sunday, i and websites – lost £4.6m. This was up from a £22.6m loss in the year to September 2011 – the first full year after the titles were bought by the Lebedev family.