The chief executive of the Pensions Protection Fund (PPF) has questioned why Johnston Press was in “an apparent rush to complete a pre-pack administration” when it was sold to JPI Media last month.
The regional publisher was sold to JPI, a new company made up of its previous debtors, after a brief period in administration. In a letter to MP Frank Field, chairman of the Work and Pensions Committee, PPF chief Oliver Morley said JP had “more than adequate cash reserves”, including enough to pay its next pension contribution totalling c£800k due on November 18th.
Morley added that he was concerned that by putting the whole company up for sale rather than individual titles, the JP board may not have achieved the best outcome for its creditors and pensioners.
“Although all parties were aware that the group faced a very difficult task in refinancing the £220m bond debt that was due for repayment in June 2019, there was no indication that the business was cashflow insolvent,” Morley writes.
“We had been led to believe that the group actually had more than adequate cash reserves, including enough to pay the next pension contribution amounting to c£800k due on 18 November. We invited the company to provide evidence of the ‘burning platform’ for proceeding with a swift pre-pack which was not forthcoming.
