Twenty years ago, on the last day of October, billionaire twins Frederick and David Barclay knelt side-by-side before the Queen of England, her sword in hand. Frederick, born ten minutes before his younger brother, was first, David next, in what was described by The Daily Telegraph (the paper they would later buy) as “the first double dubbing”—the placing of the monarch’s sword on a would-be Knight’s shoulder—“in modern times.” Distinguishable only by the way they part their hair (Sir Frederick left handed with a right-hand parting; Sir David right handed with a left-hand parting), the reclusive brothers had rarely been seen or photographed in public in decades. On the day they were knighted for their charity work, the twins wore matching suits and gave a rare interview to the waiting press. David told reporters, “For us, it’s a wonderful day. It’s a great example of what can be achieved in this country from whatever background or education or humble beginnings.”

Two decades later, so very much has changed. The once inseparable brothers, who built an empire worth an estimated $4 billion, are at war, fighting over their businesses and the fortune they created. Now aged 85, their energy is spent marshalling their children – a generation born of less “humble beginnings” – who are now threatening to break up the Barclay assets as allegations of bugging, “betrayal” and “commercial espionage” hit the London High Court.

At the heart of the Barclay vs. Barclay case: Frederick is suing his brother David’s sons and a director of the family’s holding company, accusing them of secretly recording Frederick and his daughter Amanda while they discussed business at the family-owned Ritz Hotel in London. Specifically they are pursuing “allegations of breach of confidence, misuse of private information and breach of data protection rights.” The case could lay a foundation for the courts to take a deep dive into the offshore affairs of this intensely private billionaire family.

The latest leg of what could be a long and exhausting journey through the London courts reached another important milestone on Monday, with the release of the defense statement from David’s branch, namely his sons Alistair, Aidan, Howard and Aidan’s son Andrew Barclay.

For the first time, the defendants have admitted to the bugging, acknowledging that recordings “were made and discussed.” However they deny any conspiracy “to injure any business or financial interest of Sir Frederick or Amanda,” adding that their actions “were the result of serious concerns about aspects of Sir Frederick’s conduct” that were “necessary and reasonable” to protect “business interests from potential damage.”

David’s sons say that they “regret any distress caused.” But—as with all succession melodramas—add, “Our intention has always been to act in the best interests of the entire family.” The defendants have offered to pay Frederick and Amanda damages tied to the breach of confidence.

The Story So Far

It’s a story of a deep bond between billionaire brothers, broken by the strains of succession, straight from an HBO drama that never was. And after decades of secrecy behind the walls of a gray brick, mock “gothic” castle on a private island in the English channel, which they bought in 1993 for a reported £2.3 million, the family has dragged itself out of self-imposed public isolation at the very time the U.K. has been forced indoors during the pandemic.

Over the past few months, the British businessmen known best as owners of the Yodel delivery service, The Daily Telegraph and Spectator magazine, alongside the Very retail group and, until recently, London’s Ritz Hotel, have seen their dirty laundry aired to the world.

In February, decades of brotherly solidarity and secrecy went up in smoke over allegations and legal proceedings of brother “bugging” brother as the family’s sale of The Ritz gathered momentum.

Things heated up in May, when footage was released by Frederick’s lawyers allegedly showing one of David’s sons, Alistair Barclay, installing a listening device in a meeting area of the Ritz while Frederick and his daughter Amanda were meeting to discuss the sale of the hotel. Frederick, fearing someone was listening, asked for a surveillance camera to be installed by hotel staff. Once his fears were confirmed, Frederick said in a statement reported by the BBC, that the bug was a “deliberate and premeditated invasion of my privacy.” Having shielded themselves from publicity throughout their lives, Frederick adds that the video’s release, showing the alleged bug being planted, is now “in the public interest.”

Documents disclosed by lawyers for David’s sons in court on Monday confirm Frederick’s  suspicion that members of his own family were the ones behind the bugging. They state that Alistair Barclay, having discussed the matter with his nephew Andrew but without consulting other family members, “decided to place and placed an off-the-shelf recording device (purchased over the counter from a shop in Central London) in the Conservatory at The Ritz Hotel, with a view to recording Sir Frederick Barclay’s conversations.”

Following transcription of 405 hours of recordings by Quest, a private investigation group chaired by the former commissioner of London’s Metropolitan Police, Lord John Stevens, Monday’s court documents reveal that a WhatsApp group chat was used to discuss their ”use” of the recordings. The documents add, “Alistair Barclay made brief comments on his iPhone relating to the recordings, to relay relevant information to his brothers Aidan and Howard, and to his nephew Andrew Barclay, using the WhatsApp group.”

The court documents do not make clear what information was gathered from the recordings and what was learned—if anything—about the bid process for The Ritz.

The recording device and the laptop used by Alistair Barclay, the defense documents reveal, were destroyed and thrown “into a skip” (a waste container) by his housekeeper.

And that, they had likely hoped, would be the end of it.

The Rise Of The Brothers Barclay

The Barclay brothers, David and Frederick, born in 1930s London, have risen from teenage painters and decorators to become the U.K.’s most infamous reclusive billionaires. The brothers’ story starts with the death of their father while the twins were in their teens. They dropped out of school in west London at 16, and got to work getting their first taste of entrepreneurial success with a small Notting Hill hotel, or boarding house as they were then known in the 1950s. According to Frederick’s camp today, the twins realized that if they “did it up” they could charge “three shillings more a night” than the basic rate. More hotels and boarding houses would follow through to the 1970s. 

A big windfall came with the acquisition of a shipping and brewing group, Ellerman Lines, in 1983 for £45 million.  A few years later they sold the brewing division for £240 million. They’ve kept the name Ellerman for their group today.

At their peak in 2018, the brothers’ net worth hit an estimated $5.8 billion, with a diverse empire that still includes Very (formerly Shop Direct) a catalogue retail giant that survived the leap to online, and notably The Daily Telegraph newspaper, described by former columnist Peter Oborne as the paper for “schoolteachers, military folk, farmers”–or, as Oborne writes–“decent people with a stake in the country.” Their ownership of the paper, which was loudly pro-Brexit, has put them in headlines in recent years.

Yet they’re perhaps best-known for their hotel and hospitality holdings, which have included Monaco’s Mirabeau high-rise residential tower and luxury group Maybourne, which held landmarks like Claridges. But their crown jewel was London’s Ritz, which they bought 25 years ago for £75 million ($119 million). In 2012 the brothers were the subject of a BBC Panorama investigation after the hotel was accused of paying no corporation tax through tax relief that, although legal, is often frowned upon by the British press and politicians. Responding to the BBC’s allegations, the Barclay twins said they have had nothing to do with the running of the U.K. companies. David Barclay said in a 2012 statement, “My brother and I have no editorial, political or economic power in the U.K. We have not attended office, management or board meetings in the U.K. since leaving the country.”

They have however repeatedly got involved with the family business when duty calls. In 1995, an insider tells Forbes, it was Frederick Barclay who came good with a “£7.5 million cheque from his Coutts account” to pay the deposit, putting Frederick in a far more visible role in the company’s management than had previously been assumed.

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