The former minister who resigned over the handling of COVID loan fraud has stepped down from the media group bankrolled by Sir Paul Marshall, casting fresh doubt on its interest in The Daily Telegraph.
Sky News has learnt that Lord Agnew, who quit at the despatch box in 2022, has ceased to be the chair of Old Queen Street Ventures – formerly UnHerd Ventures.
His resignation, recorded in a filing at Companies House, came less than nine months after he was appointed as UnHerd Ventures’ chairman.
At the time of his appointment, people close to the situation said Lord Agnew would play a key role in Sir Paul’s looming bid for the Telegraph newspaper titles.
The former minister also joined the parent company of GB News, the news channel in which Sir Paul is a major shareholder, as a director earlier this year.
Separately, Sir Paul himself stepped down as a member of All Perspectives, GB News’ owner, earlier this year.
A source said on Thursday: “It was announced that Lord Agnew was joining the board of All Perspectives a number of weeks ago.
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“This [resignation] is a natural next step as he focuses his attention on the next stage of GB News’s development.”
It has, however, emerged just days after Sky News reported that Sir Paul could decide against tabling a formal offer for the Telegraph newspapers ahead of a formal deadline at the end of this week.
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A source close to him said UnHerd Ventures’ change of name was “to allow the vehicle to bid for multiple media titles without creating the impression that they will be published by UnHerd”.
Sir Paul enlisted another wealthy industry peer, the Citadel founder Ken Griffin, to support an offer for the Telegraph.
The withdrawal of the Daily Mail’s publisher from the auction has 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 the financier Lynn Forester de Rothschild on an offer, while Mediahuis, the Belgian media group, is also among the parties which have indicated an interest.
CVC Capital Partners, the Six Nations rugby backer, is said to be unlikely to submit a formal offer.
The auction has been triggered by a move by the former Conservative government to block Abu Dhabi sovereign-backed RedBird IMI’s ambitions of taking control of the Telegraph.
The fate of the Telegraph, historically a staunch Conservative Party backer, has been up in the air for over a year after Lloyds Banking Group seized control of its parent companies after the Barclay family, its long-standing owner, fell behind on debt repayments.
Earlier this year, Sky News revealed that Raine Group, best-known in Britain for its roles in recent deals involving Manchester United and Chelsea football clubs, and Robey Warshaw had been hired to advise on the next phase of the Telegraph’s ownership.
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One person close to the Telegraph said its commercial prospects were robust, as had been made evident by its recently published accounts.
