Author: Mark Sweney
Sunny spring weather sent shoppers flocking to supermarkets and specialists such as butchers, bakers and alcohol outlets last month, fuelling the strongest quarterly increase in retail sales in Great Britain in almost four years.Retail sales volumes rose by 1.2% in April, well ahead of City economists’ forecasts of an increase of between 0.2% and 0.4%, marking the fourth straight month of sales growth.The Office for National Statistics said that over the three months to the end of April sales rose by 1.8%, compared with the November to January period, marking the largest quarterly rise since July 2021.The strong growth came despite the ONS revising down the 0.4% rise it had estimated in March to only 0.1%.“Sunny skies and warm temperatures helped boost retail sales in April with strong trading across most sectors,” said Hannah Finselbach, a senior statistician at the ONS. “After a poor couple of months, food sales bounced back with supermarkets reporting robust sales, while it was also a positive month for butchers and bakers, alcohol and tobacco stores.”The strongest growth was in food stores, with sales soaring 3.9% last month, mostly recovering the declines of February and March. Department stores registered a 2.8% increase in sales, while sales in household goods stores rose 2.1%.However, in clothing, textile and footwear stores, which experienced the strongest growth in March, sales fell by 1.8% last month.“Other” non-food stores, such as sports and games retailers and secondhand shops, recorded the steepest decline at 3.1%.The UK enjoyed the sunniest and third warmest April on record, with just over half the normal rainfall, according to the Met Office.skip past newsletter promotionafter newsletter promotionMatt Dalton, the consumer sector leader at the Forvis Mazars consultancy, said: “While we remain optimistic, we believe that consumers may adopt a more cautious approach to spending in the months ahead. Inflation spiked in April, wage growth is slowing, and consumer confidence is falling. Overall, we expect sales to rise, albeit at a more moderate pace than in the first four months of the year.”
A consortium led by the US private equity company RedBird Capital has agreed to buy the Telegraph for £500m, ending two years of uncertainty over the future ownership of the titles.The company’s founder, Gerry Cardinale, has signed a deal in principle that will take the Daily Telegraph and Sunday Telegraph under the ownership of a consortium that includes British investors.“This transaction marks the start of a new era for the Telegraph as we look to grow the brand in the UK and internationally, invest in its technology and expand its subscriber base,” Cardinale said. “We believe the UK is a great place to invest [and] we have tremendous conviction in the growth potential of this incredibly important cultural institution.”RedBird, which said it would become the sole controlling owner, has been in talks with potential investors including Lord Rothermere’s DMGT, the owner of the Daily Mail, Metro and New Scientist, about taking a stake of 9.9%.Rothermere, who tried to buy the titles in 2004, pulled out of the auction last summer because DMGT feared it would be pulled into a long and complex battle over competition issues and political hurdles.Any deal with DMGT, which already handles the printing and advertising sales for the Telegraph, would probably primarily relate to shared cost-savings in order to remain within competition and plurality rules.RedBird said it was in talks with “select UK-based minority investors with print media expertise”.While RedBird is expected to be joined by additional investors, the deal for the Telegraph is fully funded and not contingent on them coming onboard.RedBird Capital – which holds various investments including a stake in the parent company of Liverpool football club and is seeking to jointly acquire the TV and film business Paramount – is buying Telegraph Media Group from RedBird IMI.The US private equity group contributed a quarter of the funding to RedBird IMI, with 75% funded by International Media Investments (IMI).IMI is controlled by Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the vice-president of the United Arab Emirates and the owner of Manchester City.RedBird IMI was forced to put the titles back up for sale last spring after the British government passed a law blocking foreign states or associated individuals from owning newspaper assets in the UK.The Abu Dhabi-based RedBird IMI took control of the publishing group in November 2023 after agreeing to pay debts owed by the previous owners, the Barclay family, to Lloyds Banking Group.IMI is to retain a minority investment in the Telegraph and last week the government said it would allow foreign states to own stakes of up to 15% in British newspapers.Last week, the Liberal Democrats said they would seek to stop the proposed legislation via a rare “fatal motion”, the strongest opposition that can be taken in the House of Lords, which would block the government and force it to reintroduce the legislation.The move could split the Conservatives, who blocked the RedBird IMI deal when they were in power and had been considering a cap of 5% to 10%, but there are unlikely to be the numbers to allow the fatal motion to pass.skip past newsletter promotionafter newsletter promotionNo final deal for the Telegraph has yet been signed and a takeover will face regulatory hurdles, including a public interest test that will be triggered by the culture secretary, Lisa Nandy.The auction process run by RedBird IMI – led by the investment banks Raine and Robey Warshaw, at which the former chancellor George Osborne is a partner – has now been halted.“We’re delighted with this announcement and know that the Telegraph has a bright future under the control of Gerry Cardinale and RedBird Capital,” a spokesperson for IMI said. “This will end the uncertainty that has been facing the Telegraph, secure its future and enable it to thrive and grow for years to come.”Dovid Efune, the owner of the New York Sun, who entered a short period of exclusive takeover talks late last year before failing to raise funds, is still attempting to mount a fresh bid with support from the multimillionaire Brexit backer Jeremy Hosking.Efune’s bid also has the support of the former UK chancellor Nadhim Zahawi, who was originally involved as a “middleman” introducing RedBird IMI to the Barclay family, and had hoped to become the chair of the newspaper group.However, full financial support for Efune’s “British bid” is still not yet in place and it seems unlikely that he will be able to derail RedBird given IMI’s backing of the deal.Assuming RedBird’s in-principle agreement moves to a final deal, it will also be subject to a full investigation by the Competition and Markets Authority.RedBird said it had ambitious plans to expand the global reach of the Telegraph, particularly in the US.“With the right plan and the right investment by ambitious new owners, this venerable title can look forward to an era of unprecedented success,” Chris Evans, the editor of the Daily Telegraph, said.