THE BUSINESS that was formed to buy the former owner of The Scotsman out of administration has signalled the direction it intends to move in by appointing digital specialist Parm Sandhu as the first chairman of its board.

JPIMedia, which bought Johnston Press out of administration in a pre-packaged deal last November, said that Mr Sandhu has taken up the position with immediate effect.

In a note sent to employees chief executive David King, who held the same position at Johnston Press, said that Mr Sandhu is “a highly experienced business leader”.

Unlike Johnston Press chairman Camilla Rhodes, an old-media specialist who spent 30 years at Rupert Murdoch’s News International empire before joining Johnston Press’s board a decade ago, Mr Sandhu’s experience has been gained in communications businesses that have a focus on data and digital services.

In his note to staff, Mr King highlighted Mr Sandhu’s seven years as chief executive of German telecoms business Unitymedia, a cable operator in the states of North Rhine-Westphalia, Hesse and Baden-Württemberg.

Mr King said that during his time at Unitymedia, Mr Sandhu “presided over a market consolidation and the business’s strong growth in both revenues and subscriber numbers through the launch of new digital services”.

Since leaving that company Mr Sandhu has held a number of non-executive board positions, including at technology investment and consultancy business Merapar and Irish telecoms business Eir. In addition to JPIMedia, he also currently chairs the board of Greek telecoms provider Wind Hellas and alternative investment business dataffirm.

Prior to Johnston Press going into administration its largest shareholder, Norwegian private equity investor Christen Ager-Hanssen, repeatedly tried to overthrow its board, claiming the firm was being mismanaged because it did not have a clear digital strategy.

Mr Ager-Hanssen, who had contemplated installing former First Minister Alex Salmond on the company’s board in the event of a successful take-over bid, said in late 2017 that he wanted to “save Johnston Press, reinvigorate its staff and transform the company into a digital media powerhouse”.

While Mr Ager-Hanssen’s shareholding was wiped out as part of the Johnston Press administration, the appointment of Mr Sandhu indicates that JPIMedia’s owners - who were lenders to Johnston Press - want to take the business in a new direction. Earlier they appointed business restructuring experts John Ensall and David Duggins to the company’s board.

In his note to staff Mr King said that the latest appointment “shows the real commitment that JPIMedia’s owners have to the business and their determination to build a strong board”.

Johnston Press’s lenders, including US hedge fund Golden Tree Asset Management, formed JPIMedia to acquire the company’s assets after it failed to come up with a plan for restructuring its multi-million pound debt.

Having borrowed heavily to fund its expansion in the years leading up the financial crash, Johnston Press was due to repay £220 million to bondholders this June.

Despite putting itself up for sale last year, the size of the debt exceeded the value of the business, with the company’s large pension deficit also proving a turn-off for would-be suitors.

As a result of the administration, the debt that transferred to the new company was cut from £220m to £85m, with the business being given until December 2023 to repay the sum.

The new business was also able to leave responsibility for Johnston Press’s defined benefit pension scheme behind, with the scheme entering the Pension Protection Fund’s assessment period in mid-November. It is likely that the Pensions Regulator will order JPIMedia’s owners to make a payment to the PPF in lieu of contributions.