Connect with us

Published

on

The Barclay family has renewed its efforts to persuade Britain’s biggest high street lender to regain control of the Telegraph newspapers after restating an offer to repay the bulk of the debt it owes to the bank.

Sky News understands that the newspapers’ former owners wrote to Lloyds Banking Group again last week to repeat an offer to settle the debt for £1bn.

Lloyds is said to have responded immediately by informing the Barclays that they could either repay more than £1.1bn of borrowing in full, or participate in a recently launched auction of the broadsheet newspaper titles.

The latest exchange between the two sides comes after months of negotiations in the wake of Lloyds’ decision to appoint receivers to take charge of the Telegraph and Spectator magazine’s ultimate holding companies.

A court hearing in the British Virgin Islands, which was adjourned last month, is due to resume in the coming weeks but with little sign that either side is prepared to give sufficient ground to resolve the matter.

Sky News revealed in October that the Barclays had made the £1bn offer, supported by a financing guarantee from First Abu Dhabi Bank, and that Lloyds had rejected it on the basis that it would pursue a formal sale process for two of the UK’s most influential media assets.

Talks orchestrated by Goldman Sachs, the investment bank, have now kicked off with prospective buyers, including Sir Paul Marshall, the hedge fund billionaire and GB News shareholder.

Other potential bidders include Lord Rothermere, the Daily Mail proprietor, who has also been in talks with Middle Eastern investors, and the London-listed media group National World.

The new board of the Telegraph holding company has established an incentive plan to keep key employees motivated during the sale process, with collective financial rewards totalling millions of pounds, Sky News revealed recently.

Lloyds’ decision to press ahead with an auction – which is expected to generate bids of around £600m – has angered the Barclays amid suggestions that the sources of their funding could prompt ministers to launch a probe on public interest grounds.

Until June, the newspapers were chaired by Aidan Barclay – the nephew of Sir Frederick Barclay, the octogenarian who along with his late twin Sir David engineered the takeover of the Telegraph 19 years ago.

Read more from Sky News:
White people more likely to receive positive rental response

Caramac and animal bar to be discontinued
Car insurance premiums hit record highs

Lloyds had been locked in talks with the Barclays for years about refinancing loans made to them by HBOS prior to that bank’s rescue during the 2008 banking crisis.

The family’s debt to Lloyds also includes some funding tied to Very Group, the Barclay-owned online shopping business.

The Telegraph and Spectator disposals are being overseen by a new crop of directors led by Mike McTighe, the boardroom veteran who chairs Openreach and IG Group, the financial trading firm.

Mr McTighe has been appointed chairman of Press Acquisitions and May Corporation, the respective parent companies of TMG and The Spectator (1828), which publish the media titles.

Both Lloyds and a spokesman for the Barclay family declined to comment.

Continue Reading

Business

US Federal Reserve defies calls from Donald Trump to cut interest rate

Published

on

By

US Federal Reserve defies calls from Donald Trump to cut interest rate

The Federal Reserve has defied calls from US President Donald Trump for a cut to the interest rate by leaving it unchanged.

The decision means it has an effective rate of 4.3%, where it has remained after the central bank, known as the Fed, reduced it three times last year.

“We’re keeping the rates high, and it’s hurting people from buying houses,” Mr Trump told reporters. “All because of the Fed.”

Money latest: Three major broadband firms hike prices

Mr Trump has repeatedly been asked whether he would fire Fed chair Jerome Powell if he failed to heed his demand to cut the rate.

In June, the US president labelled Mr Powell a “stupid person” after the Fed decided not to change rates. Then less than two weeks later, in a further attack, he said the Fed’s chair should “ashamed” and would “love” him to resign.

The US president has spent months verbally attacking Mr Powell.

More from US

Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player

Fed chair has ‘done a bad job’, says Trump

There were clear tensions between the pair last Thursday as they toured the Federal Reserve in Washington DC, which is undergoing renovations.

When taking questions, Mr Trump said: “I’d love him to lower interest rates,” then laughed and slapped Powell’s arm.

Donald Trump and Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell
Image:
There were clear tensions between the US President and Mr Powell during last week’s visit to the Federal Reserve. Pic: Reuters

The US president also challenged him, in front of reporters, about an alleged overspend on the renovations and produced paperwork to prove his point. Mr Powell shook his head as Trump made the claim.

When Mr Trump was asked what he would do as a real estate mogul if this happened to one of his projects, he said he’d fire his project manager – seemingly in reference to Mr Powell.

Donald Trump challenges Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell about the cost of renovations
Image:
Donald Trump challenged Mr Powell in front of reporters. Pic: Reuters

Unlike the UK, the US interest rate is a range to guide lenders rather than a single percentage.

The Fed has expressed concern about the impact of Mr Trump’s signature economic policy of implementing new tariffs, taxes on imports to the US.

Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player

Trump’s tariffs: What you need to know

On Wednesday, the president said he was still negotiating with India on trade after announcing the US will impose a 25% tariff on goods imported from the country from Friday.

Mr Trump also signed an executive order on Wednesday implementing an additional 40% tariff on Brazil, bringing the total tariff amount to 50%, excluding certain products, including oil and precious metals.

Follow The World
Follow The World

Listen to The World with Richard Engel and Yalda Hakim every Wednesday

Tap to follow

Read more from Sky News:
Visa blamed for payment errors
Care provider nears collapse
Apollo set to buy £7bn stake in MFG

The committee which sets rates voted 9 to 2 to keep the benchmark rate steady, the two dissenters were appointees of President Trump who believe monetary policy is too tight.

In a policy statement to explain their decision, the Federal Reserve said that “uncertainty about the economic outlook remains elevated” but growth “moderated in the first half of the year,” possibly bolstering the case to lower rates at a future meeting.

Nathan Thooft, chief investment officer at Manulife Investment Management, described the rate decision as a “kind of a nothing burger” and it was “widely expected”.

Tony Welch, chief investment officer at SignatureFD, agreed that it was “broadly as expected”. He added: “That explains why you’re not seeing a lot of movement in the market right now because there’s nothing that’s surprising.”

Continue Reading

Business

Apollo charges in for stake in £7bn petrol retailer Motor Fuel Group

Published

on

By

Apollo charges in for stake in £7bn petrol retailer Motor Fuel Group

The investment giant Apollo Global Management is close to snapping up a stake in Motor Fuel Group (MFG), one of Britain’s biggest petrol forecourt empires, in a deal valuing it about £7bn.

Sky News has learnt that Apollo could announce as soon as Thursday that it has agreed to buy a large minority stake in MFG from Clayton Dubilier & Rice (CD&R), its current majority-owner.

The transaction will come after several months of talks involving CD&R and a range of prospective investors in a company which is rapidly expanding its presence in the electric vehicle charging infrastructure arena.

Money latest: Three major broadband providers confirm price hikes

Banking sources said there had been a “large appetite” to invest in the next phase of MFG’s growth, with CD&R having built the company from a mid-sized industry player over the course of more than a decade.

Lazard and Royal Bank of Canada are understood to be advising on the deal.

A stake of roughly 25-30% in MFG has been expected to change hands during the process, with Apollo’s investment said to be broadly in that range.

MFG is the largest independent forecourt operator in the UK, having grown from 360 sites at the point of CD&R’s acquisition of the company.

It trades under a number of brands, including Esso and Shell.

CD&R, which also owns the supermarket chain Morrisons, united MFG’s petrol forecourt businesses with that of the grocer in a £2.5bn transaction, which completed nearly 18 months ago.

MFG now comprises roughly 1,200 sites across Britain, with earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) of about £700m anticipated in this financial year.

It is now focused on its role in the energy transition, with hundreds of electric vehicle charging points installed across its network, and growing its high-margin foodservice offering.

MFG has outlined plans to invest £400m in EV charging, and is now the second-largest ultra-rapid player in the UK – which delivers 100 miles of range in ten minutes – with close to 1,000 chargers.

It aims to grow that figure to 3,000 by 2030.

CD&R, which declined to comment on Wednesday afternoon, will retain a controlling stake in MFG after any stake sale, while Morrisons also holds a 20% interest in the company.

Read more from Sky News:
Visa blamed for payment errors
Care provider nears collapse
Gary Neville attacks NI rise

Bankers expect that the minority deal with Apollo will be followed a couple of years later with an initial public offering on the London stock market.

CD&R invested in MFG in 2015, making its investment a long-term one by the standards of most private equity holding periods.

The sale of a large minority stake at a £7bn enterprise valuation will crystallise a positive return for the US-based buyout firm.

CD&R and its investors have already been paid hundreds of millions of pounds in dividends from MFG, having seen its earnings grow 14-fold since the original purchase.

Morrisons’ rival, Asda, has undertaken a similar transaction with its petrol forecourts, with EG Group acquiring the Leeds-based grocer’s forecourt network.

EG Group, which along with Asda is controlled by private equity firm TDR Capital, is now being prepared for a listing in the US.

Apollo declined to comment.

Continue Reading

Business

Sainsbury’s blames Visa card issues for online payment failure

Published

on

By

Sainsbury's blames Visa card issues for online payment failure

J Sainsbury, the supermarket chain, was on Wednesday racing to resolve an issue with card payments made involving Visa and Barclays which was impacting customers’ ability to pay for online grocery orders.

Sky News understands that Sainsbury’s is working with Visa and Barclays to address the issue after a number of shoppers reported that their card payments had failed.

A Sainsbury’s spokeswoman initially said Visa card payments were to blame for the problems, with the retailer subsequently updating its position to say the technical issue actually rested with Barclays.

Money latest: The best places to retire in Britain

The grocer ruled out the possibility of a cyberattack and said its website and app were functioning normally, with no direct impact on customers.

The issue nevertheless illustrates the extent to which the industry is on high alert for cybersecurity-related incidents after a spate of attacks which have raised concerns about the sector’s resilience.

In recent months, major British retailers including Marks & Spencer, the Co-op and Harrods have been the victim of cyberattacks, with the impact on M&S particularly acute.

More from Money

M&S has said the attack on its systems would cost it at least £300m and forced it to suspend online orders for months.

The Co-op saw in-store availability of thousands of products disrupted for several weeks.

A Sainsbury’s spokesperson said, “We’re working with one of our payment providers to resolve a temporary issue processing some payments for our Groceries Online service.

“We continue to deliver orders for customers and our website and app are working as normal.”

Visa said: “”Visa systems are operating normally. We are working with our partners to help them investigate.”

Barclays has been contacted for comment.

Continue Reading

Trending