Sir Paul Marshall has emerged as the frontrunner to buy The Spectator after entering advanced talks to buy the historic political magazine.
The billionaire hedge fund tycoon is among a clutch of bidders competing for The Spectator, which has been put up for auction alongside The Telegraph newspapers by Abu Dhabi-backed media group RedBird IMI.
Sir Paul, who also owns a significant stake in news channel GB News, is bidding through his Old Queen Street Ventures vehicle, which includes the UnHerd website and cafe.
RedBird IMI put The Telegraph and The Spectator up for auction earlier this year with a price tag of above £600m after the former Tory government blocked its attempt to take over the titles.
Sir Paul is now said to be leading the race to acquire The Spectator, which was first published in 1828. Sources told Sky News that a deal could be struck as soon as this month. The two sides are yet to enter exclusive talks, however, meaning another bidder could still gatecrash the process.
The billionaire investor is best known for his Marshall Wace hedge fund but has branched out into media ventures in recent years in a bid to influence the political debate. He helped set up the UnHerd website, founded by editor Freddie Sayers, in the heart of Westminster and also became a significant shareholder in GB News.
The Spectator, known as the “speccie” among its readership, was brought together in a publishing stable with The Telegraph by former owners the Barclay family. A deal to buy The Spectator would mean the The Telegraph titles remain up for auction.
Sources stressed that a deal for The Spectator would not preclude Sir Paul also mounting a bid for The Telegraph.
Bankers Raine and Robey Warshaw, who are leading the auction process, set an initial bid deadline of July 19 to receive offers for the stable of titles.
Bidders who submitted offers for The Spectator and Telegraph titles included Sir Paul, local newspaper group National World and Rupert Murdoch’s News UK, Belgian media group Mediahuis and Lord Maurice Saatchi.
The sale process marks the second auction of the titles this year after an initial process led by Goldman Sachs was gatecrashed by Redbird IMI, which acquired the option to take ownership last year.
The group, a joint venture between Abu Dhabi and RedBird led by media mogul Jeff Zucker, swooped on the group after buying up debts owed by Barclay family to Lloyds Banking Group. The deal short-circuited the initial auction and allowed RedBird IMI to take control of the titles. However, the Tory government blocked the deal by rolling out new laws preventing sovereign wealth funds such as Abu Dhabi’s from owning any shares in UK media titles.
Old Queen Street Ventures and RedBird IMI declined to comment.