<\/p>\n
Revenue and operating profits at The Telegraph held steady in 2024 despite ongoing turmoil over who owns the paper. Newly published accounts from Press Acquisitions Limited, the parent company of Telegraph Media Group and the Chelsea Magazine Company, show a 1.2% rise in revenue to \u00a3279.4 million for the year ending 29 December 2024.<\/p>\n
Operating profit before exceptional items slipped by just 0.2% to \u00a354.6 million, maintaining a 20% margin, a solid result in a difficult media market. Growth in digital subscriptions and online advertising offset continued declines in print. Total subscriptions rose 5% to 1,086,000, with digital subscriptions up 11% to 842,000, now 78% of the total. Digital revenues climbed 18% to \u00a381.1 million, while digital advertising grew 19% to \u00a320 million.<\/p>\n
Print continued its long decline: print subscriptions fell 5% to \u00a369.4 million, circulation revenue dropped 3% to \u00a355.8 million, and print advertising slid 13% to \u00a329 million. Other revenues were down 10% to \u00a324.1 million, reflecting algorithm changes at Google and the growing impact of AI-generated content on search traffic.<\/p>\n
Telegraph Media Group\u2019s acquisition of the Chelsea Magazine Company in 2023 helped broaden its portfolio, with CMC delivering \u00a310.2 million in revenue last year, up from \u00a38.1 million in its first nine months under Telegraph ownership. About 88% of total revenues continue to come from the UK and Ireland.<\/p>\n
Pre-tax profits plunged from \u00a3201 million in 2023 to \u00a315 million in 2024, the result of a one-off accounting reversal the previous year that had inflated earlier figures. Including exceptional items, operating profit fell from \u00a3207 million to \u00a319.5 million, as \u00a331.1 million in costs linked to takeover activity weighed on results.<\/p>\n
The Telegraph\u2019s workforce grew modestly to 1,229, including 792 in editorial and production. But the company has faced significant constraints since Lloyds Banking Group effectively repossessed it in mid-2023 over unpaid Barclay family debts.<\/p>\n
The ownership saga has since become a political flashpoint. Abu Dhabi-backed RedBird IMI cleared \u00a31.2 billion of Barclay debts late in 2023, taking control of the paper, but was blocked from a full takeover after the government imposed new limits on foreign state ownership of British media. In March 2024, legislation capped such holdings at 15%.<\/p>\n
A new deal was announced in May 2025 for US-based RedBird Capital Partners, a separate entity with IMI as a minority investor, to buy The Telegraph for \u00a3500 million. The sale awaits government approval and could yet face scrutiny from the Competition and Markets Authority. RedBird founder Gerry Cardinale has promised to preserve editorial independence while pursuing digital expansion, but reports of friction with senior journalists have already surfaced.<\/p>\n
Press Acquisitions ended 2024 with \u00a336 million in cash and has since repaid \u00a335 million of a \u00a350 million loan from Lloyds, leaving \u00a315 million due by 2026. Executives say a new five-year plan is in place, centred on a \u201csubscription-first\u201d digital model, continued investment in journalism, and product innovation.<\/p>\n