UAE lender to support Barclays family with £1bn bid for Telegraph - report

First Abu Dhabi Bank, the largest bank in the United Arab Emirates, is rumoured to be the backer of the Barclays family's £1bn bid for The Telegraph.

According to Sky News on Friday, the Middle Eastern lender is providing financing to the family to support the offer to buy back the newspaper, along with The Spectator from creditor Lloyds.

In June, Lloyds took control of the Daily Telegraph, Sunday Telegraph and Spectator, which the Barclays family has owned since 2004, in a long-running dispute about unpaid debt worth £1.14bn.

A formal sale process of the titles was launched earlier this month, and a number of parties have already expressed interest in the titles, including Germany’s Axel Springer and Daily Mail owner Lord Rothermere.

The Barclays had previously tabled a £1bn bid, as they sought to wrest back control and force Lloyds to abandon the auction. However, the bank is understood to have rejected the approach as it wanted to proceed with a full auction.

The involvement of the UAE lender is likely to raise concerns about ownership structures and controlling stakes held by foreign owners of a national newspaper.