Both the Telegraph and the Spectator could possibly be on the market “within days” as Lloyds Banking Group looks to recover debts from owners, the Barclay family. Sky News reports that Lloyds intends to select an investment bank to kick off an “immediate” auction process, with one source suggesting AlixPartners had already been appointed.

Although details are shady, reports suggest the loan owed by the Telegraph’s parent company is in the “hundreds of millions of pounds”. A spokesman for the Telegraph Media Group boasted of strong subscriber numbers, now reaching 750,000, and warned that “speculation about the business entering administration is unfounded and irresponsible”. As a spokesman for the Barclay family speculated about the business entering administration:

“The loans in question are related to the family’s overarching ownership structure of its media assets. They do not, in any way, affect the operations or financial stability of Telegraph Media Group. The businesses within our portfolio continue to trade strongly”.

The Barclay brothers paid £665 million for the Telegraph in 2004. On a commercial basis, it’s probably now worth perhaps half that…

UPDATE: AlixPartners have been appointed as receivers to the Barclay family’s holding company. Read more here…