Barclays line up Gulf firepower for contemporary raid on Telegraph newspapers
The former house owners of The Daily Telegraph have lined up lots of of hundreds of thousands of kilos from Middle Eastern buyers in a bid to wrest again management of the newspaper from Britain’s largest excessive road financial institution.
Sky News can completely reveal that the Barclay household lodged a proposal final week to purchase again roughly £1bn of debt it owes Lloyds Banking Group.
City sources stated it was the newest – and richest – in a collection of provides the household has put to Lloyds because the Telegraph’s holding firm was positioned into receivership in June.
This weekend, insiders stated the Barclays had secured financing from unnamed Gulf backers who’re stated to be primarily based in Abu Dhabi.
The proposal to Lloyds supplied to purchase again the household’s debt for between £500m and £600m – a considerable low cost to the complete worth of the loans, in line with one supply.
The financial institution is known to have rejected the Barclays’ bid, and intends to pursue a full public sale of the each day newspaper, its Sunday sister title and The Spectator journal, whose father or mother firm was additionally positioned into receivership.
A proper sale course of, run by the Wall Street financial institution Goldman Sachs, is anticipated to kick off within the autumn.
The Barclay household’s newest supply underlines, nevertheless, its willpower to not completely lose management of the media group it took management of in 2004.
Lloyds had been locked in talks with the Barclays for years about refinancing loans made to them by HBOS previous to that financial institution’s rescue through the 2008 banking disaster.
Until June, the newspapers have been chaired by Aidan Barclay – the nephew of Sir Frederick Barclay, the octogenarian who together with late brother Sir David engineered the takeover of the Telegraph 19 years in the past.
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In latest months, Sir Frederick has been embroiled in an acrimonious £100m court docket battle over his divorce settlement.
The Barclays beforehand owned the Ritz resort in London, and nonetheless personal Very Group, the web retailer.
Sky News revealed earlier in the summertime that the household had additionally instructed bankers to promote Yodel, the parcel supply group it owns.
Houlihan Lokey, the funding financial institution, is advising the Barclays on their efforts to regain possession of the newspapers.
A supply stated this weekend that the Barclays have been adamant that their proposal to purchase again the Lloyds debt supplied the financial institution a “clean” answer that will avert any regulatory probe that is likely to be triggered by one other media group shopping for the Telegraph.
Among these considering a deal is Lord Rothermere, the Daily Mail proprietor, who Sky News revealed a fortnight in the past can also be speaking to Middle Eastern buyers about backing a bid.
A sale for £600m, or wherever near it, would set off a considerable writeback for Lloyds, which wrote down the worth of its loans to the Barclays a number of years in the past.
Nevertheless, a deal financed fully by abroad buyers might set off different considerations referring to media possession, notably with the historically Conservative-supporting Telegraph titles being offered within the 12 months earlier than a normal election.
Charlie Nunn, Lloyds’ chief government, stated final month that he noticed no must run “a rushed sale process”.
“We’ve given the receivers the complete freedom to run a process with the right diligence and, from our perspective, to ensure the process is run well from a UK perspective and maximise the returns for our shareholders,” he stated.
Other potential suitors for the Telegraph titles inclde National World, the regional newspaper writer headed by David Montgomery, the trade veteran.
The hedge fund tycoon Sir Paul Marshall – who can also be a giant investor in GB News – and Czech businessman Daniel Kretinsky are additionally potential bidders.
Last month, Telegraph Media Group (TMG) printed full-year outcomes displaying pre-tax income had risen by a 3rd to about £39m in 2022.
A profitable digital subscriptions technique and “continued strong cost management” have been cited as causes for the corporate’s earnings development.
“Our vision is to reach more paying readers than at any other time in our history, and we are firmly on track to achieve our 1 million subscriptions target in 2023 ahead of our year-end target,” stated Nick Hugh, TMG chief government..
The sale will likely be overseen by a brand new crop of administrators led by Mike McTighe, the boardroom veteran who chairs Openreach and IG Group, the monetary buying and selling agency.
Mr McTighe was not too long ago named as chairman of Press Acquisitions and May Corporation, the respective father or mother corporations of TMG and The Spectator (1828), which publish the media titles.
On Saturday, spokespeople for the Barclay household and Lloyds each declined to remark.