Banks may end up with a slice of Johnston Press

Johnston Press may surrender part of the company to its banks in order to secure a life-saving loan, according to a Sunday Times story yesterday. It claimed that the publisher's creditors, including Royal Bank of Scotland and Lloyds Banking Group, could end up with the right to buy a stake in the company as part of the refinancing deal. Johnston, which has more than £350m of debt, has delayed its 2011 results while talks with lenders continue. In an interview with the paper , Johnston's chief executive, Ashley Highfield, gave a broad hint that "Press" may de dropped from the company's name. He also touched on how the publisher might monetise online content in future while attracting new users - selling apps bundled with subscriptions, and creating "content verticals", the aggregation of material from all of Johnston titles. Sources: Sunday Times (1) (2) The Guardian