The group warned in March of uncertainty over its ability to trade as a going concern if it could not restructure its debt. It was due to have its convenants tested on Tuesday following a two month delay.

News of the debt restructure came as Johnston this morning announced its interim results, in which it reported a 56% profit drop to £27.5m on revenues of £218.6m, down 25%.

The profit drop came following a 32.7% fall in year-on-year advertising revenues and a £126m writedown of goodwill – taking Johnston's total goodwill writedown since the beginning of 2008 to £543.5m.

However, the group said that it expected the decline in advertising revenues to slow during the rest of this year.

The newly agreed finance facility amounts to £485m at a relatively high interest rate of 9.45%, reflecting the challenges of gaining finance in the current climate.

Chief executive John Fry said: "The timing of the economic upturn remains uncertain, but advertising revenues are demonstrating greater stability and we expect the cyclical improvement, when it comes, to more than compensate any ongoing structural change.

"We will maintain our focus on costs and look to secure additional operating efficiencies during the second half of the year."

Johnston Press's shares rose more than 10% to 30.5p in morning trading.