London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Saturday, May 31, 2025

Ritz hotel and The telegraph owners, brothers who built a £3billion empire are embroiled in a bitter feud amid claims one has been spying on the other with bugs in their landmark hotel

Ritz hotel and The telegraph owners, brothers who built a £3billion empire are embroiled in a bitter feud amid claims one has been spying on the other with bugs in their landmark hotel

Multi-billionaire Barclay twins Sir David and Sir Frederick are embroiled in feud. Brothers - born in Hammersmith - started as 16-year-old painters and decorators. They are now worth some £3 billion and their empire includes The Ritz in London. The heart of the family rift involves the disposal of key assets in their empire
With its elegant panoramic windows and potted palms, the conservatory in London’s iconic Ritz hotel has long been the place to be seen.

But recently it seems it has become a place to be heard.

Not the conversations of guests — perish the thought. But in a bizarre development in the lifelong partnership of The Ritz’s owners, the multi-billionaire Barclay twins, one brother’s family has apparently been bugging the other.

It is surely the most unexpected of all the twists and turns that have shaped the near 70-year collaboration of the knighted businessmen Sir David and Sir Frederick.

Born in Hammersmith to Scottish parents who had eight other children, they started out as 16-year-old painters and decorators. Today with a privately owned empire that encompasses shipping, retail and The Ritz, as well as the Telegraph media group, they are worth some £3 billion.

Since both are well into their ninth decade, it seems no time for the brothers — indeed, twins so identical that people could mistake one for the other — to fall out. But as one family source puts it, ‘it’s a feud’.

And as the High Court heard this week, Sir Frederick, the younger by ten minutes, has been secretly bugged by his twin’s sons and grandson for several months. The bugs — described in court as ‘an elaborate system of covert recordings’ — were allegedly placed in the hotel conservatory, near one of Sir Frederick’s favourite spots where he enjoyed cigars and talking to his only daughter Amanda.

The heart of this gripping family rift involves the disposal of key assets in their empire. The private family company includes Very, the catalogue retailer formerly known as Shop Direct, Yodel the delivery company, the newspapers the Daily Telegraph and Sunday Telegraph and, of course, The Ritz, which they bought 25 years ago for £75 million.

A deal is understood to be on the table in which a Saudi private investment company would buy the historic hotel on the edge of Green Park for £750 million. But family sources tell us that Sir David does not want to sell, even though its profits in 2018 fell from £13 million to £7 million.

Matters are also said to be complicated by Sir Frederick’s divorce from his Japanese-born wife Hiroko, 77.

The words inheritance as well as family trusts have certainly been heard a lot recently in family circles. This is hardly surprising as the twins will reach the age of 86 in October.

For his part, Sir David, who divides his time between a mock Gothic castle on the tiny Channel Island of Brecqhou and Monaco, has never countenanced retirement — describing it to friends as ‘God’s waiting room’.

The reclusive Sir Frederick, on the other hand, has been, as he puts it, ‘mostly retired’ since his late 70s. He is said not to have been directly involved in the business for more than 20 years.

The next generation have, meanwhile, already become deeply embroiled in the network of family companies that extend to offshore bases in Jersey, Bermuda and the British Virgin Islands.

Sir David has four sons and nine grandchildren. The eldest Aidan, 64, — ‘my Aidan’ as Sir David refers to him — has been managing the UK businesses. Then there are Howard, 60, Duncan, 59, and Alistair, 30.

It is Aidan, Howard and Alistair, together with Aidan’s son Andrew, 28, who are the alleged parties to the bugging. They eavesdropped on their uncle, it is said in the family, because they disagreed with the way Sir Frederick was going about holding talks with potential buyers.

And crucially, their side of the family claims, because of his habit of talking to strangers whom he meets in The Ritz, where he spends much of his time when he isn’t in Monaco.

The feud has pitted cousin against cousin as well as brother against brother. As Desmond Browne QC, representing Sir Frederick and his 41-year-old daughter Amanda, told the High Court: ‘We all remember Tolstoy saying “each unhappy family is unhappy in its own way”.’

‘Here, children of Sir Frederick and Sir David have been at odds concerning the family trusts — and cousin, sadly, has been pitched against cousin.’

Indeed feud is hardly strong enough a word to describe the toxic atmosphere that separates the twins once seen as inseparable.

‘They look alike, talk alike but they are as different as chalk and cheese,’ says one family figure. ‘It’s really quite dreadful. Heaven knows how it will all end.’

The family spectacle unfolding in the High Court has all the bitterness and drama of the huge Amazon Prime hit Succession, in which members of a media empire battle over its control.
Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Satirical Sketch Sparks Political Spouse Feud in South Korea
Indonesia Quarry Collapse Leaves Multiple Dead and Missing
South Korean Election Video Pulled Amid Misogyny Outcry
Asian Economies Shift Away from US Dollar Amid Trade Tensions
Netflix Investigates Allegations of On-Set Mistreatment in K-Drama Production
US Defence Chief Reaffirms Strong Ties with Singapore Amid Regional Tensions
Vietnam Faces Strategic Dilemma Over China's Mekong River Projects
Malaysia's First AI Preacher Sparks Debate on Islamic Principles
White House Press Secretary Criticizes Harvard Funding, Advocates for Vocational Training
France to Implement Nationwide Smoking Ban in Outdoor Spaces Frequented by Children
Meta and Anduril Collaborate on AI-Driven Military Augmented Reality Systems
Russia's Fossil Fuel Revenues Approach €900 Billion Since Ukraine Invasion
U.S. Justice Department Reduces American Bar Association's Role in Judicial Nominations
U.S. Department of Energy Unveils 'Doudna' Supercomputer to Advance AI Research
U.S. SEC Dismisses Lawsuit Against Binance Amid Regulatory Shift
Alcohol Industry Faces Increased Scrutiny Amid Health Concerns
Italy Faces Population Decline Amid Youth Emigration
U.S. Goods Imports Plunge Nearly 20% Amid Tariff Disruptions
OpenAI Faces Competition from Cheaper AI Rivals
Foreign Tax Provision in U.S. Budget Bill Alarms Investors
Trump Accuses China of Violating Trade Agreement
Gerry Adams Wins Libel Case Against BBC
Russia Accuses Serbia of Supplying Arms to Ukraine
EU Central Bank Pushes to Replace US Dollar with Euro as World’s Main Currency
Chinese Woman Dies After Being Forced to Visit Bank Despite Critical Illness
President Trump Grants Full Pardons to Reality TV Stars Todd and Julie Chrisley
Texas Enacts App Store Accountability Act Mandating Age Verification
U.S. Health Secretary Ends Select COVID-19 Vaccine Recommendations
Vatican Calls for Sustainable Tourism in 2025 Message
Trump Warns Putin Is 'Playing with Fire' Amid Escalating Ukraine Conflict
India and Pakistan Engage Trump-Linked Lobbyists to Influence U.S. Policy
U.S. Halts New Student Visa Interviews Amid Enhanced Security Measures
Trump Administration Cancels $100 Million in Federal Contracts with Harvard
SpaceX Starship Test Flight Ends in Failure, Mars Mission Timeline Uncertain
King Charles Affirms Canadian Sovereignty Amid U.S. Statehood Pressure
Trump Threatens 25% Tariff on iPhones Amid Dispute with Apple CEO
Putin's Helicopter Reportedly Targeted by Ukrainian Drones
Liverpool Car Ramming Incident Leaves Multiple Injured
Australia Faces Immigration Debate Following Labor Party Victory
Iranian Revolutionary Guard Founder Warns Against Trusting Regime in Nuclear Talks
Macron Dismisses Viral Video of Wife's Gesture as Playful Banter
Cleveland Clinic Study Questions Effectiveness of Recent Flu Vaccine
Netanyahu Accuses Starmer of Siding with Hamas
Junior Doctors Threaten Strike Over 4% Pay Offer
Labour MPs Urge Chancellor to Tax Wealthy Over Cutting Welfare
Publication of UK Child Poverty Strategy Delayed Until Autumn
France Detains UK Fishing Vessel Amid Post-Brexit Tensions
Calls Grow to Resume Syrian Asylum Claims in UK
Nigel Farage Pledges to Reinstate Winter Fuel Payments
Boris and Carrie Johnson Welcome Daughter Poppy
×