The local newspapers-to-multimedia group has been in talks with its banks for several months, after it emerged at the time of its interim results that it was “operating closer to its financial covenants than was originally intended”.

Johnston Press has now confirmed that it has reached agreement with its lenders to revise the covenants for the period through to September 2015, with the expectation that a full refinancing of the business will take place during 2014.

The £330m turnover group has £306m of debt, and a near-£100m pension deficit.

Chief executive Ashley Highfield said the fresh covenant arrangement provided a “clear path” for the group to pursue its digital growth strategy. “We plan to refinance the group in 2014 and will continue to work closely with our lenders and their financial advisers for that process,” he said.

Johnston Press operates three print centres at Sheffield, Portsmouth and Carn in Northern Ireland, generating contract print revenues of £27m. The group is in the process of selling off non-core assets, and there has been industry speculation that it could offload its print operations if a suitable buyer were found.

In August last year Johnston wrote down the value of its titles by £194.5m, and of its printing assets by £57.9m.

Separately, the business has confirmed that is in discussions over the sale of its 14 regional newspapers in the Republic of Ireland, which could bring in £8.5m.

It will announce an update on its progress with the refinancing along with its full-year results in March.