British regulator blocks UAE takeover of The Telegraph

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British regulator blocks UAE takeover of The Telegraph: report

October 17, 2026

LONDON — Britain’s broadcasting watchdog has firmly blocked a bid by the United Arab Emirates to buy The Telegraph, a decision that has only now come to light, the newspaper itself reported.

Ofcom’s investigation into the offer from RedBird IMI, the UAE’s investment arm, was released two and a half years after it was first given to government ministers.

The timing comes as the Gulf nation already faces backlash in Britain over financial scandals tied to Manchester City.

The regulator’s conclusion was blunt. Even with promises in place, the UAE would have had both the means and the motive to shape The Telegraph’s coverage, putting the accuracy of its reporting and its freedom of opinion at risk.

Ofcom said the sale would have worked against the public interest.

These findings add to growing frustration over claims that Manchester City used fake contracts and false bookkeeping.

The club rejects the allegations but could still be dropped from the Premier League. The scandal centers on owner Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, who also serves as the UAE’s vice president and led the attempt to buy The Telegraph.

Ofcom said it would not accept RedBird IMI’s promises to protect editorial freedom, pointing to testimony it gathered about the Manchester City deal.

The regulator noted that although Sheikh Mansour described his purchase of the club as a private investment, senior UAE government figures quickly took on top positions there.

Pierre Andrews, who works at the consulting firm Public First and once advised the Culture Secretary, said the report lands at an awkward moment for the government, since Andy Burnham’s ties to the UAE from his years as Manchester’s mayor are now under scrutiny.

He added that the Manchester City situation could become a major problem for Labour, much like the Telegraph bid once was.

Ofcom also flagged heavy overlap between the leadership of IMI and UAE officials, warning this gave the bidder strong political and financial reasons to interfere with the paper’s editorial direction.

The report noted that although Telegraph revenue has dropped over the past decade, like most national papers, its profit margins remain among the best in the business.

The UAE responded quickly through The National, a state-owned paper where Ofcom had gathered evidence of censorship.

An IMI spokesman argued that Ofcom mishandled the review, claiming it relied on unfair assumptions rather than facts and wrongly mixed up a private company’s business interests with the actions of a government.

The National also carried remarks from Reform treasurer Nick Candy, a property investor with ties to Abu Dhabi and Dubai, who said the decision hurts Britain’s reputation as a place for foreign investment.

His comments were countered by Robert Jenrick, Reform’s Treasury spokesman, who said the country does not want outside interference in its politics and called for answers about Burnham’s dealings with Manchester City’s owners.

Ofcom’s report stated there is no clear line between public and private sectors in the UAE.

Lawmakers eventually overtook the investigation. Outrage in Parliament led to new legislation banning foreign governments from owning UK news outlets, allowing both the previous Conservative government and the current Labour government to delay releasing Ofcom’s specific concerns, a delay that reportedly angered the UAE.

The decision could also raise questions about the newly completed merger between Paramount and Warner, backed by billions from the UAE, Qatar and Saudi Arabia alongside RedBird Capital.

Unlike British regulators, U.S. officials accepted similar editorial independence guarantees for CNN and approved the deal.

Paramount says its Gulf investors will hold nearly half the company but no voting shares. Still, Ofcom found Abu Dhabi could influence RedBird Capital through their broader business relationship, regardless of formal ownership rules.

Ofcom rejected the idea that the UAE would be a passive investor in an influential paper, and questioned the commercial logic behind a £600 million loan RedBird IMI gave the Barclay family to secure the purchase. The regulator said it could not conclude the loan was driven purely by business reasons.

IMI’s chairman, Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber, also runs Abu Dhabi’s state oil company and has been accused of tightening UAE media censorship during his time leading its regulator.

Ofcom cited concerns about sportswashing linked to Sheikh Mansour’s football holdings and warned of possible self-censorship among journalists.

The regulator also noted the UAE’s low global press freedom ranking, past fines against UAE state broadcaster ADMC, and claims of government interference at The National.

(With files from The Telegraph)