Independent News & Media has asked lenders for more time as it anticipates not being able to secure a debt deal by next Monday.

The Ireland-based newspaper group, publisher of The Independent in the UK, on Monday formally requested a standstill agreement – which gives a company a period of stability in which to negotiate a debt restructuring – from its banks and bondholders, as the deadline to repay €200m (£179m, $271m) in bonds looks set to lapse.