Former minister Agnew leaves Marshall media group amid doubts over Telegraph bid | Business News

The former minister who resigned over his handling of the COVID loan fraud has left the Sir Paul Marshall-funded media group, casting fresh doubt over his interest in The Daily Telegraph.

Sky News has learned that Lord Agnew, who quit the dispatch box in 2022, has stepped down as chairman of Old Queen Street Ventures – formerly UnHerd Ventures.

His resignation, recorded on file at Companies House, came less than nine months after he was appointed chairman of UnHerd Ventures.

At the time of his appointment, people close to the situation said that Lord Agnew would play a key role in Sir Paul’s imminent bid for the Telegraph titles.

The former minister also joined the parent company of GB News, a news channel in which Sir Paul is the majority shareholder, as a director earlier this year.

Separately, Sir Paul himself stepped down as a member of All Perspectives, which owns GB News, earlier this year.

A source said on Thursday: “It was announced that Lord Agnew would be joining the All Perspectives board a few weeks ago. [resignation] is the natural next step as he focuses his attention on the next stage of GB News’ development.”

However, it emerged a few days later Sky News reported that Sir Paul could decide against submit a formal offer to Telegraph newspapers before the formal deadline at the end of this week.

A source close to him said the UnHerd Ventures name change was “to allow the outlet to bid for multiple media titles without creating the impression that they would be published by UnHerd.”

Sir Paul recruited another wealthy industry colleague, Citadel founder Ken Griffin, to back a bid for the Telegraph.

The Daily Mail publisher’s withdrawal from the auction left few credible bidders for two of Britain’s most important newspapers.

The only credible industry name with a track record in the UK is David Montgomery, whose National World vehicle would need to raise hundreds of millions of pounds to finance a deal.

Lord Saatchi, the former advertising executive, is working with financier Lynn Forester de Rothschild on a bid, while Mediahuis, the Belgian media group, is also among the parties to have expressed an interest.

Six Nations rugby sponsor CVC Capital Partners is said to be unlikely to submit a formal bid.

The auction was triggered by a move by the former Conservative government to block the ambitions of Abu Dhabi-backed RedBird IMI to take control of the Telegraph.

The fate of the Telegraph, historically a staunch supporter of the Conservative Party, has been up in the air for more than a year after Lloyds Banking Group took control of its parent companies after the Barclay family, its long-time owners, have delayed payment of the debt.

Earlier this year, Sky News revealed that the Raine Group, best known in Britain for its role in recent deals involving football clubs Manchester United and Chelsea, and Robey Warshaw had been brought in to advise on the next phase of the club’s ownership. Telegraph.

A person close to the Telegraph said its trading prospects were robust, as was evident from its recently published reports.