Did a hedge fund push up publisher’s shares 70pc?

A BUYING frenzy lifted Johnston press’s shares by 70pc after hopes that an activist hedge fund was about to demand changes on the board.

the publishing group, which owns the ‘ i’ newspaper, was forced to issues a late statement to the stock exchange yesterday explaining it was unaware of any ‘operational or corporate reason’ for the leap in its price by 70.26pc or 6.19p to 15p.

this clawed back some of the losses of the past 12 months which saw the price fall from a high of 96.75p.

Experts believed the sudden hike was down to the intervention of hedge fund Crystal Amber, which has been itching for change at the group.

the hedge fund held a 3.3pc stake before yesterday and has been deep in talks with the publisher over its management.

the buying spree at Johnston seems to have been sparked by a ‘buy’ note from brokers Liberum, with an ambitious target price of 160p per share, and also results from Crystal Amber.

Crystal Amber explained how it viewed Brexit as an opportunity to intervene in the running of a number of UK firms. the hedge fund has a track record of successful activist campaigns, having pushed for both thorntons and pinewood to put themselves up for sale.

It is understood yesterday’s spike in the share price was not as a result of a big buyer in the market for Johnston press.

Last month the publisher, which bought the ‘i’ for £24m from the Lebedev family in February, wrote down the value of its titles – which include the Yorkshire post and Sunderland Echo – by £217m. this drove the company to losses of £183.7m. Circulation at the ‘i’ has since increased.

Johnston press sold the Isle of Man Newspapers for £4.25m in August, and yesterday said that it continued to ‘actively explore opportunities for the disposal of further assets’.

‘these discussions continue to progress satisfactorily,’ it added. ‘Further announcements will be made as appropriate.’

Crystal Amber, which is based in Guernsey, could not be reached for comment. Listed on AIM, the activist fund’s shares were flat at 186p.