Paul Marshall, the co-owner of right-wing news channel GB News, has added the prestigious art journal Apollo to his growing media stable. The hedge fund billionaire’s firm, Old Queen Street Ventures, bought Apollo, one of the UK’s oldest art magazines, as part of a broader deal that included the weekly current affairs magazine The Spectator. The purchase follows OQS’s £100 million acquisition of The Spectator earlier this week.
In a statement, OQS verified adding Apollo to its stable of titles, describing the magazine as “renowned” in the world of visual arts. Headquartered in London and initially established in 1925, Apollo works to review the most current trends in art and culture on a month-to-month basis worldwide. It will join The Spectator, one of Britain’s most popular conservative political magazines, in Marshall’s growing media stable.
“The Spectator, Apollo and The Telegraph previously belonged to the Barclay Brothers, and all were put up for sale last year. Marshall is also said to be in the running to buy The Telegraph,” the statement said.
OQS said it would invest in journalism, talent, and technology at the brand and in growing The Spectator’s audience while being custodians of Apollo’s legacy. Edward Behrens remains the editor of Apollo, while Freddie Sayers, CEO of OQS and editor-in-chief of the online magazine UnHerd, becomes the publisher of both The Spectator and Apollo.
Marshall, 17th on The New Statesman’s “right power list” last year, has amassed a vast fortune via his hedge fund, Marshall Wace, which manages more than $60 billion in assets. A former Liberal Democrat, Marshall has since changed his political allegiance, backing Brexit in 2016 and causes on the political right. He has been described as close to Michael Gove and others and actively supports free schools and evangelical Christianity.
The purchase forms part of a series of bold moves in the rising influence of Marshall within the British media landscape. This week, it was announced that Andrew Neil, longtime chairman of The Spectator, was stepping down and remarked that he never presided over one compulsory redundancy in his twenty years at the helm-a fact that was a matter of personal pride for him.
Marshall’s portfolio now encompasses politics, art, and cultural commentary, making him one of the most influential men in the UK’s media ecosystem.
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