Daily Telegraph, Sunday Telegraph newspapers put up for auction

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: The Guardian
7 Jun 2023 18:18
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Among those who expressed an interest in the purchase include the Belgian group Mediahuis and Amazon founder, Jeff Bezos.

Front page of The Daily Telegraph, leading with stories about the publication of the book "Spare". (AFP)

The Guardian reported on Wednesday that The Daily Telegraph and Sunday Telegraph will soon be put for sale in an auction after the Barclay family, who owns the papers, lost a legal battle against their lenders, Lloyds Banking Group, who are looking to recover an enormous debt owed by the family's press holdings.

AlixPartners were appointed by the bank to seize the Barclay family's shares in the holding company.

Sources told The Guardian that the bank is also looking to remove Barclay family-appointed board members and sell the Telegraph and Spectator papers.

Those who are to be removed include Aidan Barclay and his brother Howard who both control the family’s assets in the UK.

The bank has reportedly hired the firm Lazard and is looking to appoint one other investment bank as an adviser.

The Telegraph Media Group (TMG) was bought by twin brothers David and Frederick Barclay in 2004 for £665 million. The purchase also included the Spectator.

Potential buyers include DMGT group which also owns the Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers, MailOnline and Metro.

Although the group has previously expressed an interest in the purchase, it risks facing regulatory issues over implications to competitivity.

Others who have expressed an interest in the purchase include the Belgian group Mediahuis and Amazon founder, Jeff Bezos, who paid $250m (£200m) to buy the Washington Post in 2013.

A spokesperson for the Barclay family told The Guardian: "The loans in question are related to the family’s overarching ownership structure of the family’s media assets. They do not, in any way, affect the operations or financial stability of TMG."

"The businesses within our portfolio continue to trade strongly, are run by independent management teams, and are well capitalized with minimal debt and strong liquidity. They have no liability for any holding company liabilities, continue to operate as normal, and are unaffected by issues in the holding company structure above them."