Calls grow for Lisa Nandy to end Telegraph ownership stalemate

THE SALE of The Telegraph newspaper has drawn widespread political calls for culture secretary Lisa Nandy to intervene and end the prolonged uncertainty surrounding its ownership.

The newspaper has been in limbo for 20 months after an auction process initiated by RedBird IMI, an Abu Dhabi-backed investment fund, failed to secure a suitable buyer.

RedBird IMI had sought to recover over £500 million spent in a deal to acquire the paper from the Barclay family, The Telegraph reported.

The sale process, overseen by investment bankers including former chancellor George Osborne, has been dubbed “the newspaper auction from hell” by the Columbia Journalism Review.

A potential bid by Dovid Efune, publisher of the New York Sun website, has stalled due to insufficient funding. Other interested parties, such as Lord Saatchi, David Montgomery, Paul Marshall, and Todd Boehly, have yet to meet RedBird IMI’s valuation.

Senior politicians across party lines have called for swift resolution. Conservative Shadow Culture Secretary Stuart Andrew stated: “It was right the Tory government at the time scrutinised the takeover move for The Telegraph. Now is the time to ensure certainty for the publication.”

Liberal Democrat leader Ed Davey urged action, saying, “The Government must now urgently get a move on and resolve this uncertainty – anything less would be simply unacceptable, and bad for British democracy.”

Labour MP James Frith emphasised the need for both speed and safeguarding media plurality, stating, “Speed alone mustn’t come at the expense of safeguarding the sustainability and plurality of our print media.”

The Telegraph has been managed by independent directors since Lloyds Banking Group seized it from the Barclays in 2023 over unpaid debts.

The culture secretary retains powers to refer the case to the Competition and Markets Authority, which could trigger an investigation into press freedom concerns linked to Abu Dhabi’s involvement, the newspaper reported.

A spokesperson for the Department for Culture, Media and Sport said, “The Government is not involved in the sale process of The Telegraph at this stage. This is for RedBird IMI alone.”

Meanwhile, Nandy’s office stated she is prohibited from expressing a view on the case.

The uncertainty continues to weigh on the newspaper’s operations, with editor-in-chief Chris Evans admitting to staff: “There’s obviously a limit to what we can do in these circumstances.”