Ex-chancellor Nadhim Zahawi rumoured to chair Very Group

Nadhim Zahawi, who had a brief stint as the Chancellor of the Exchequer, is rumoured to be in consideration for chairing the largest remaining part of the Barclay family's business, the Very Group.

The MP for Stratford-on-Avon, since 2010, is among the candidates to become the next Chairman of the Liverpool-based online retail and financial services company, according to Sky News.

As a Co-founder of YouGov, the market research and polling company, digitally-inclined Zahawi is said to be fit for the job. He has also held ministerial posts at the Department of Health and Social Care, the Department for Business and as Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster.

Zahawi will have to step down from parliament if he accepts the role. This will see him join a slew of Conservative MPs stepping down at the forthcoming general election, including Theresa May, the ex-Prime Minister, and former Conservative Party Chairman Sir Brandon Lewis.

The former Chancellor has been an intermediary between the Barclay family and the Abu Dhabi-based investor IMI Investments since it showed interest in bidding for The Daily Telegraph last summer. However, immense backlash from Conservative parliamentarians saw Downing Street intervene and amend legislation prohibiting ownership of British newspaper titles by investors connected to a foreign state.

Last month, Very Group confirmed that Dirk Van den Berghe was stepping down as its Chairman. Aidan Barclay, who chaired the Telegraph for years, was appointed interim Chair.

At the time, it was revealed that the company, which operates digital retailers Very and Littlewoods, secured £125 million of new funding from investment firms Carlyle and IMI "to support its growth", despite posting a second-quarter loss for the 26 weeks ending 30 December 2023.

As a result of higher interest costs compared to the prior year, loss before tax for the period stood at £2 million compared to a profit before tax of £2.1 million in Q2 FY23.