Lloyds to launch £600m Telegraph sale - report

High street lender Lloyds is reportedly lining up bankers to launch a £600m auction of the Telegraph newspapers and The Spectator magazine within days amid a row with the titles' long-standing owners.

According to Sky News, Lloyds is being advised by Lazard on its options for the media assets.

Industry sources told Sky that Lloyds planned to appoint another large investment bank to kick off an immediate process to sell the Daily and Sunday Telegraph titles.

That would formally end the Barclay family's nearly two-decade ownership of the broadsheet newspapers.

One insider said Lloyds had already appointed AlixPartners as the receiver to B.UK Ltd, a Bermuda-based entity. That appointment will pave the way for the bank to take control of a cascade of group companies, including those which directly own the Telegraph and Spectator titles.

It was understood that barring a last-minute agreement with the current owners, Lloyds intends to pursue this course as early as Wednesday, enabling it to remove directors appointed by the Barclay family.

Among those removed is expected to be Aidan Barclay, the chairman of the newspaper group. However, the bank does not plan to place Telegraph Media Group or its direct parent, Press Acquisitions, into administration themselves.

A spokesperson for the Barclay family told Sky on Tuesday: "The loans in question are related to the family's overarching ownership structure of its media assets.

"They do not, in any way, affect the operations or financial stability of Telegraph Media Group.

"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."

The spokesman added that Telegraph Media Group had been "performing extremely well and now has over 750,000 subscribers".

"The company recorded a 25% increase in operating profit during 2021, has recently successfully acquired Chelsea Magazine company, and is progressing strongly towards meeting its targets.

"Speculation about the business entering administration is unfounded and irresponsible."