Senior UK ministers flag concern over foreign interest in Telegraph newspaper

LONDON - Senior British ministers including Business Secretary Kemi Badenoch and Security Minister Tom Tugendhat, who both attend Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s Cabinet, have raised concerns within government about the possibility of foreign ownership of The Telegraph, according to people familiar with the matter.

Ms Badenoch and Mr Tugendhat have flagged the issue with Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport Lucy Frazer, the people said, as pressure mounts from backbench lawmakers for the government to intervene in the process.

Ms Frazer’s office declined to comment.

It comes as a court hearing on Nov 20 to liquidate a Barclay family holding firm is set to be adjourned, which could offer the clan a route to pay their debt to Lloyds Banking Group and reclaim control of the newspaper.

The family’s offer to repay over £1 billion (S$1.67 billion) of debt to Lloyds is backed by RedBird IMI, which will lend money to the Barclay family to enable them to repay the debt they owe. 

The media investment vehicle is led by former CNN president Jeff Zucker and is a joint venture between RedBird Capital Partners and the United Arab Emirates-based International Media Investments.

Tory MPs Neil O’Brien and Danny Kruger have both urged Ms Frazer to issue a so-called public interest intervention notice (PIIN) in recent weeks.

A PIIN can trigger regulators Ofcom and the Competition and Markets Authority to report to the British government on media public interest considerations, jurisdiction and competition issues.

Mr O’Brien, who until last week was a government minister, said on Nov 17 on social media platform X that he hopes Ms Frazer’s department will “scrutinise the financing and ownership structure of any deal closely and put them through the usual PIIN process”.

Mr Kruger also urged Ms Frazer to use a PIIN to scrutinise the prospect of “foreign investment into influential British media” through a letter he sent to the minister in October and reviewed by Bloomberg. 

A spokesman for the Barclay family, referring to an earlier statement on the process, said the family’s proposal to Lloyds concerns the settlement of outstanding loans.

“There is no precedent and no basis for a PIIN being issued in relation to a debt transaction, and we are highly confident that the family’s proposal would not trigger any regulatory reviews regarding the ownership of the media assets,” the statement said.

“We continue to believe that our proposal offers Lloyds Banking Group and its shareholders the most compelling, straightforward and speedy resolution to this situation.”

Lloyds seized the Telegraph titles along with the Spectator magazine from the Barclay family in June to claw back debts, removing Barclay family members from their director positions and placing the businesses in receivership.

Goldman Sachs Group has been appointed to run the sales process for the Telegraph Media Group and the Spectator (1828).

The politically influential titles have already attracted interest from various bidders.

United States billionaire and major Republican donor Ken Griffin and hedge fund manager Paul Marshall have discussed a potential bid, people familiar with the matter have said previously.

Middle Eastern investors have held talks with Daily Mail and General Trust about supporting potential offers from the rival news publisher. 

In his letter, Mr Kruger pointed to media reports of an “anonymous member of one of the royal families in the United Arab Emirates, who will be taking The Telegraph and The Spectator as security” for its loan.

“If material influence over, or control of, a quality national newspaper was passed to an unknown foreign ruler at any time, it would raise concerns, but at a heightened time of geopolitical turmoil, I believe it is more important than ever that this deal for a treasured national asset is given proper scrutiny,” Mr Kruger said. BLOOMBERG