The Spectator magazine and sister Telegraph titles were sold to Sir Paul Marshall in a long-running battle over ownership.
Marshall, the financier who owns the Marshall Wace hedge fund and GB News (the television channel), has purchased the magazine, after the purchase of the magazine by a fund backed by Abu Dhabi was blocked by Ministers.
Marshall’s Old Queen Street Ventures also owns UnHerd magazine online and the Old Queen Street Cafe.
Marshall, 65, a “longtime Spectator Reader”, expressed his delight at the purchase. Old Queen Street Ventures will make up for previous under-investment by Old Queen Street in one of the greatest titles in the world, he explained.
Freddie Sayers will be the new publisher of The Spectator. He is 42 years old, and has been chief executive officer of Old Queen Street Ventures, editor-in-chief at UnHerd.
Andrew Neil, 75 years old, a former editor and broadcaster, announced on X he would be stepping down from his position as chairman of The Spectator. He said: “I stated many months ago that if a new owner came in, I would step aside.” “That time is now.”
He expressed his “greatest disappointment” at not having found a “new place that would have nurtured the unique chemistry of the magazine.” “We stopped the takeover of the magazine by a group of Arab power brokers who were backed by ignorant Americans with their own agenda. But after that we had no control over the new owner, nor could we influence the choice.”
Fraser Nelson, editor of The magazine, stated: “Had The Spectator, as planned, been sold to Emirati Government, we would have faced obvious concerns about our editorial and operational independence. This will be protected by Sir Paul.”
The Spectator and The Daily Telegraph, as well as the Sunday Telegraph, were all put up for auction last year after Lloyds Bank seized them from the Barclay Family, acting on outstanding debts of £1.2 billion.
Lloyds hired Goldman Sachs bankers to find buyers for conservative-leaning titles. But the Barclays scuttled the deal when they refinanced their debts using funding from RedBird IMI. This joint venture is partly funded by Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed bin Sultan al Nahyan who is vice-president of the United Arab Emirates and deputy prime minister.
Politicians have criticized the deal, citing the UAE’s record of media censorship. Journalists at other UAE titles have revealed that the state has restricted their reporting about topics sensitive to the ruling family.
More than 100 MPs supported the amendments proposed by the House of Lords to prevent foreign governments from owning UK papers. The government then passed new laws to prevent foreign state ownership, influence, or control of periodical magazines and newspapers. This effectively blocked RedBird IMI’s bid.
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