The government has been urged to take control of the sale of the Telegraph through an auction run by a body such as the UK competition regulator or the Cabinet Office.
Peers called on the culture secretary, Lisa Nandy, to wrest the sale process from RedBird IMI, which is majority funded by the United Arab Emirates, in questions put to Labour minister Fiona Twycross in the House of Lords on Wednesday.
RedBird IMI has been forced to restart the sale process after its junior partner in the joint venture, Gerry Cardinale’s US-based RedBird Capital Partners, pulled out of a deal to buy the Daily and Sunday Telegraph on Friday.
Christopher Fox, the Liberal Democrats business spokesperson in the Lords, said the Telegraph needed an independent “white knight” buyer and argued that those involved in previous attempts to buy the titles should not be allowed to lead the process. He added that the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) had mishandled the situation and suggested the Cabinet Office or an external adviser with experience of complex media transactions should take control instead.
The Conservative peer Michael Forsyth suggested the government should turn to the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) to pursue a “proper auction and have normal order restored”.
Lady Twycross said the government was “acutely aware” that the protracted sale had left the Telegraph and its staff “in limbo for too long”, but added that the DCMS would continue to control the process.
She said: “The secretary of state has adhered to the letter of the law and diligently carried out her quasi-judicial responsibilities. There is no basis to the suggestion that the decision should be made elsewhere. Securing a swift outcome in the public interest is a priority for her.”
Nandy could refer Redbird IMI’s bid to the CMA to investigate whether it breaches laws on foreign state ownership, using new powers under the Foreign State Influence (FSI) regime.
If the CMA were to deem the bid unlawful, Nandy could order an independent sale of the titles at a market-led price, potentially run by the regulator and supervised by the independent directors who have overseen the Telegraph during the protracted process.
Another option could be to coordinate the process through the Cabinet Office.
However, IMI, which is controlled by Abu Dhabi’s Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, has said that while it purchased an “economic interest” in the Telegraph it has never sought to influence or control the titles.
The newspaper group has been in limbo for two and a half years after Lloyds Bank put it up for sale, having seized control from its former owners the Barclay family over unpaid debts.
RedBird IMI, which took control of the titles in late 2023, was forced to put them back on the market after new legislation banned foreign states from owning UK newspapers. It has been unable to find a buyer at the £500m price it is seeking.
Most media analysts believe that the titles are worth about £350m.
Any move to force a sale, especially one resulting in a significant loss for RedBird IMI, which would anger the UAE, would be politically unattractive for the government.
Becket McGrath, a partner at the law firm Euclid Law, said: “The mechanism [to force a sale] seems to act as a sword of Damocles here. Government can force a sale by initiating a process but the current owners are looking to sell anyway. So it would just trigger a lot of bureaucracy and forces a bigger loss on them. It is not tempting for the government.”
RedBird Capital’s aborted bid, which could have been referred to Ofcom and the CMA on public interest grounds, would also have included small stakes from the owner of the Daily Mail and billionaire Sir Leonard Blavatnik.
A new sales process could revive interest from GB News investor Sir Paul Marshall, who acquired the Spectator in September 2024 for £100m, and Lord Rothermere’s Daily Mail and General Trust (DMGT).
However, a bid from DMGT, which already handles the Telegraph’s printing and advertising sales, would spark regulatory scrutiny over competition concerns.
Lord Saatchi and Lynn Forester de Rothschild also tabled a bid last August for £350m, plus a promise of further payments dependent on performance, which was also rejected by RedBird IMI.
