The entrepreneur Dale Vince has made a fresh approach to the owner of The Guardian in a bid to persuade it to open talks with him about The Observer, days after its sale was agreed to a digital start-up.
Sky News has seen an email sent at the weekend by Mr Vince to Ole Jacob Sunde in which he asks whether an interview given to a Sunday newspaper indicating that he was open to other talks about The Observer’s future represented “a change of position” from the left-wing newspaper publisher.
Mr Vince, who had held talks with the Guardian Media Group chair, Charles Gurassa, prior to last week’s confirmation of The Observer’s sale to Tortoise Media, wrote to Mr Sunde: “I am ready to engage with your team if you are serious.
“I don’t imagine you expect a blind bid, or would take one seriously, [and] a discussion on the numbers therefore would be the right starting place. Is that possible?”
“Broadly speaking my intentions for the Observer match your own; I’m a fan and a reader and a believer in media pluralism.
“I operate a group of companies that made £38m last year on roughly £500m of turnover – all operating in the green economy.
“The Observer clearly needs a digital presence in order to stand alone, I believe the print version is essential to maintain – and the Guardian subscriber model is I believe the right approach.”
Mr Vince, who has founded a string of green energy businesses and owns Forest Green Rovers Football Club, is understood to have written to Mr Sunde after the Scott Trust chair was asked by The Sunday Times whether he would still consider selling to a rival to Tortoise Media.
“Of course, at any time in the process, you would listen to people coming to talk to you,” Mr Sunde told The Sunday Times.
“And we will listen, as we have done with all the different bidders that have come.”
However, his comments appeared to be at odds with a subsequent email sent by Mr Sunde in response to Mr Vince’s latest overture – which has also been…
