Johnston Press chief executive Ashley Highfield has told staff he expects the company to “return to advertising growth for the first time in a decade” this year.

In an email to staff this afternoon, Highfield also said that the regional publisher is to “put the advertising customer at the heart of everything we do”.

Last week, JP announced that its half-year revenue to 4 July was expected to have fallen by 5 per cent year on year after a “number of national and local advertisers chose to reduce or delay their spend in both print and online” around the time of the election.