Johnston Press has completed the sale of its three Isle of Man newspapers to Tindle.

As reported on HTFP last month, the two companies agreed the purchase of the Isle of Man Examiner, Isle of Man Courier, Manx Independent and www.iomtoday.co.im for £4.25m.

The sell-off is the first since JP revealed in January that it was exploring possible asset sales to help fund investment and pay down net debt.

The sale followed what has been described by JP as a “competitive tender process”.

A company statement issued by JP yesterday evening reads: “Further to the announcement on 6th July, Johnston Press plc is pleased to announce that it has today completed the sale of its titles on the Isle of Man to Tindle Newspapers Ltd, the UK based publisher, for £4.25m in cash.

“The disposal, comprising the Isle of Man Examiner, Isle of Man Courier, Manx Independent and www.iomtoday.co.im, is in line with the Group’s previously stated divestment strategy to align resources to brands and geographies offering the greatest growth opportunities.

“Proceeds from the disposal will support the company’s c and further deleverage the Company.”

The Isle of Man titles recorded a profit before tax of £598,000, £632,000 before exceptional items, for the year ended 31 December 2015 and had gross assets of £1.78m at that date.

Ashley Highfield, Johnston Press chief executive officer, said: “This disposal is further progress in executing our divestment strategy and allows the group to realise immediate value from our Isle of Man assets.”