Telegraph put up for auction as bank tries to recover debts

The Daily and Sunday Telegraph are to be put up for auction following a bitter battle between the newspaper groups owners, according to reports.

Lloyds Banking Group is said to have appointed consulting firm AlixPartners to act as the official receiver to seize the shares owned by the Barclay family in holding company Telegraph Media Group (TMG) which also controls the Spectator magazine.

“Multiple sources” at the bank told the Guardian that it decided to act after “becoming frustrated at the repayment of a loan amounting to hundreds of millions of pounds”.

Lloyds also intends to remove Barclay family-appointed board members, according to the publication.

The revelations emerged just hours after it was reported that the publication was on the “verge” of going into administration because of its debts. The Barclay family later said the loans “do not, in any way, affect the operations or financial stability of” the firm.

If the latest claims are true, it would see the removal of the newspaper group’s chair Aidan Barclay and his brother Howard, who between them control the family’s UK assets.

Lloyds has reportedly appointed the firm Lazard to advise on its options and is eyeing the appointment of one other investment bank as advisers and now wants to move swiftly to set up an auction.

Twin brothers David and Frederick bought TMG in 2004 for £665m. Tensions erupted between them in 2019 when Frederick mooted a sale as part of a feud with his late brother David.

Potential suitors weighed in with bids of about £200m. However, since then its financial position has dramatically improved after its subscription model attracted more than 750,000 sign-ups - leading to reported profits of almost £30m last year.

The owners of the Daily Mail, Belgian group Mediahuis and Amazon founderJeff Bezos, who bought the Washington Post in 2013, are said to be among the potential suitors now.

In an earlier statement addressing claims of the firm going into administration, a spokesperson for the Barclay family said: “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, are well capitalised 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.”

As well as TMG, Aidan and Howard control Ellerman Holdings, the holding company of the family’s UK assets, which include the online retailer Very and the delivery group Yodel.

The Guardian said AlixPartners will act as a receiver to B.UK, a Bermudan-based holding company that ultimately controls the shares in TMG and Spectator (1828) Limited, via the Jersey-based May Corporation, which also owns Press Acquisitions, the UK owner of TMG.

The Independent has contacted Barclays and TMG for comment.