Moves afoot to rescue the Scotsman

The Sunday Times is reporting attempt by a business consortium to rescue the Scotsman from the grip of Johnston Press.

According to the paper

Talks have taken place in recent weeks but the two sides are believed to be a long way apart on price. Industry sources say Johnston is holding out for about £40m for The Scotsman, which it bought from the Barclay brothers for £160m in 2005.

adding that

Johnston’s acquisition of The Scotsman was seen as the crowning glory of a buying spree that had taken the company from a family-run player to one of the country’s largest regional publishers in barely a decade.
In reality, it was one of several deals too far for the group, which is locked in talks with lenders to reset the borrowing terms on £450m of debt by August 31.