Possible administration of the parent firm of the Telegraph

After it was revealed that the parent business of the newspaper group faced the possibility of being placed into administration by lenders, the future control over the Daily and Sunday Telegraph has once again come under scrutiny.

Press Acquisitions, a corporation owned by the Barclay family and the parent company of the newspapers, Telegraph Media Group (TMG), has been threatened with bankruptcy by Lloyds Banking Group due to a breakdown in negotiations over loans the company has piled up over the years.

According to the Times, Lloyds is prepared to enlist the help of a restructuring consulting company and hire insolvency attorneys "within days" if the two parties are unable to return to the negotiating table to work out a fresh agreement about the roughly £65 million in debts.

One source stated that TMG is in "good financial shape" and noted that issues with one of the holding companies owned by the Barclay family did not necessarily indicate that the newspapers will be put back up for sale.

According to a representative for the Barclay brothers, "the loans in question are related to the family's overarching ownership structure of the family's media assets." They have no impact on TMG's operations or financial soundness in any manner.

“The companies in our portfolio are still doing well, have autonomous management teams, are well-capitalized with little debt, and have a lot of liquidity. They continue to do business as usual and are unaffected by problems with the holding company structure above them since they are not liable for any holding company obligations”.

TMG increased its profits to £29.6 million last year and later resumed its pursuit of acquisitions by purchasing the Chelsea Magazine Company, the March publisher of magazines including the English Home and Classic Boat.

Nevertheless, there was a dispute between Sir Frederick Barclay and his twin brother David, who passed away two years ago, which resulted in the newspapers being placed up for sale in 2019.

Despite the fact that solid discussions about selling TMG, which the brothers acquired for £665 million in 2004, were never held as a result of Barclays' asset evaluation, it aroused significant interest in a rare chance to perhaps acquire one of the UK's crown jewel media companies.

The parent company of the Mail, MailOnline, and I newspapers, DMGT, the Belgian business Mediahuis, and Amazon founder Jeff Bezos—who spent $250 million (£201 million) for the Washington Post in 2013 and has previously been connected to a prospective bid—were among the candidates that came to light.

The May Corporation, incorporated in Jersey, is in charge of Press Acquisitions, which is overseen by Sir David Barclay's sons Aidan and Howard.

Additionally, the two are in charge of Ellerman Holdings, the holding company for the family's UK holdings, including the delivery service Yodel and the online shop Very. The Ritz hotel was sold to a Qatari investor by the family, who also owns the Spectator, in 2020.

(theguardian.com, thetimes.co.uk)