Lord Saatchi considers bid for The Telegraph

The former advertising guru behind Margaret Thatcher’s famous ‘Labour doesn’t work’ poster is considering a bid for the Telegraph.

Lord Saatchi is said to be putting together a consortium as the first round of bids on July 19 approaches.

The Conservative peer, who was one of two shareholders in advertising agency Saatchi & Saatchi and then M&C Saatchi, is said to be in talks with Lynn Forester de Rothschild over a joint bid, according to Sky News.

The potential consortium is believed to have approached a number of backers in recent weeks, although sources close to the matter have warned that it is far from certain that the discussions will result in a concrete offer.

Lord Saatchi became famous for the advertisements his agency, in which he is no longer actively involved, created in 1978, the year before Thatcher became prime minister.

Lady de Rothschild, widow of banking giant Sir Evelyn de Rothschild and former director of The Economist Group, is a self-made millionaire and founder of the Coalition for Inclusive Capitalism.

Uproar between parties

The future of the Telegraph and the Spectator has been in doubt since Lloyds Banking Group took control of their parent companies in a dispute with the Barclays family over £1.2bn of bad loans.

An initial auction failed in December after the Barclay family repaid its entire debt, with most of the money coming from a loan from Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the UAE’s deputy prime minister.

In return, a purchase option that would effectively hand over ownership of the Telegraph and the Spectator was granted to the Abu Dhabi-backed investment fund Redbird IMI.

But the takeover was ultimately blocked this year after a public outcry led to the passage of a law banning foreign state influence on British newspapers and websites.

A second auction is currently being held by RedBird to sell the titles under its ownership option. The deadline for bidding is July 19.

A £278m black hole

Other bidders are expected to include hedge fund boss Sir Paul Marshall and Lord Rothermere, owner of the Daily Mail Group, both interested in the first auction.

Concerns remain that the second auction could also be compromised by further intervention by the Competition and Markets Authority.

The Telegraph’s latest accounts have revealed a £278m black hole resulting from a loan to the Barclay family that is unlikely to be repaid.

The £278m, recorded as a “provision” in the 2023 accounts recently filed at Companies House, pushed The Telegraph to a record loss of £245m last year, despite what its executives described as a strong underlying performance.