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Norwegian Billionaire Buys Stake in Johnston Press

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Christian Ager-Hanssen, the London-based Norwegian billionaire-owner of the Swedish version of the Metro has bought a 5% share in British regional publisher Johnston Press.

Shares in the company, which has been struggling with massive debt repayments, soared by nearly 20% following the news.

Johnston Press must pay off a bond of £220 million, used to fund a significant acquisition of titles in the 1990s, by 2019.

Ager-Hanssen believes he is in a position to help the company with the problem of the bond repayments and has lined up a number of investors who may be able to take on the debt.

Speaking to the press, Ager-Hanssen said: ‘I believe in the company and I think that they will be able to sort out the bond issue and that we can help them do that.

‘I think we need to move quite quickly. This is something that will happen over the next six months.’

Despite owning the Swedish edition of the Metro, Ager-Hanssen does not see any strategic synergies between the two brands. Instead he hopes to increase his investment in the publisher and use it as a springboard to launch new companies in the UK.

Ager-Hanssen said: ‘Where we are focused is actually building audience and we want to invest heavily into UK media. And we will do that. We will increase our stake in Johnston.

‘You can take Johnston’s audience, which is 32m, or 34m, and kick-start new companies like we did in Sweden.’

Johnston Press has welcomed the investment but is also keeping its cards very close to its chest regarding future plans, with a spokesperson for the publisher stating: ‘As a major new shareholder, and with his experience, we of course welcome a conversation with Christen and a meeting has been set up.’

Kirstie Pelling Stuart Pelling

Blogger Spotlight: Kirstie Pelling, The Family Adventure Project

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Kirstie Pelling is the Top 10 Family Travel Blogger, who along with husband Stuart, runs The Family Adventure Project. With content advocating being active and outdoors with your family, the blog’s ethos is always the spirit of adventure. Kirstie took some time to tell us about the magic of Iceland, loving cake and working creatively with PRs.

How would you describe your blog?
The Family Adventure Project is a magazine-style site that publishes feature style content about travel, adventure and outdoor activities. The site aims to share ideas, inspiration and practical advice to help people get out, get active, and explore and adventure together, whether for a day out on their doorstep or on a year-long journey around to the other side of the globe.

Why did you start your blog?
We started it because lots of people told us we couldn’t or shouldn’t adventure with kids. We kicked it off with a year biking New Zealand with our two toddlers. We wanted to connect with others who had a different view and to share our own ideas, inspiration and advice to show the amazing things that are possible with kids of all ages and experience.

What makes your blog stand out against other family travel blogs?
We have a clear focus on active and adventurous travel and broad experience travelling independently and on organised trips. We’ve been publishing a long time, over 10 years. We pride ourselves on the quality of our writing, photography and videography and have won multiple awards that recognise this. We are well connected and collaborate with other digital media professionals and collectives to extend reach and influence.

What’s the best place you’ve been as a family?
Iceland made an indelible mark. Everywhere you look magic is happening in or above the ground. And you can’t put it all down to the elves! We spent seven weeks touring the country and taking cycle trips on some of its remote roads. We can confirm that the dream road was dream cycling. We also went white water rafting, glacier hiking and Icelandic horse riding. Icelandic horses are the perfect size for kids.

What’s the worst place you’ve been as a family?
We work hard to embrace anything and everything we encounter! There are no worst places – we often pull together best as a family when we are out of our depth or in challenging terrain or environments. We always figure as long as we have a tent and the kids with us we’ll be fine anywhere.

What makes the ideal family holiday?
Going somewhere new, doing something we’ve not done before, being active and outdoors. We are also pretty fond of cake.

Where haven’t you been that you’re desperate to get to?
Alaska and Greenland. Not necessarily in that order.

How do you like to work with PRs?
We love a collaborative approach. We love to bring our ideas and experience to contribute to campaigns or to shape them in a way which will appeal to our audiences and niche.

What is the one thing PRs should know about you?
You can rely upon us to deliver.

What are your favourite blogs to read?
Alastair Humphreys, Escape Artistes and Inside the Travel Lab.

Kirstie Pelling features on the Vuelio Media Database along with thousands of other bloggers, influencers and journalists.