BARCLAY

A media empire in crisis, seized by banks due to excessive unpaid debt. The most famous hotel in London, sold to Arabian parvenus because of its unbearable costs. The Barclay dynasty may seem like a story of collapse and disgrace—but it’s far more intriguing, and perhaps not as shameful as it appears.

Brecqhou, a diminutive islet barely more than a solitary rock, lies hidden in the waters of the English Channel. Despite its French name, the outcrop is British territory. Historically—since the Viking raids on the Anglo-Saxon kingdom and the Norman invasion—these tiny islands between France and the UK have held strategic importance, fuelling centuries of disputes.

As one approaches Brecqhou by sea, a striking castle looms atop the rock. Though it appears ancient, the fortress is surprisingly new: 120,000 tons of land were imported to reshape the island. The forty families who had lived on Brecqhou for generations protested—but to no avail.

This extravagant rococo-style castle became the private residence of two elusive twins: Sir Frederick and Sir David Barclay. For nearly three decades, Brecqhou has been entirely off-limits, a private realm for the Barclays—who, at 87 years old, once owned a vast chunk of London: from the Ritz Hotel to diplomatic buildings in Belgravia, plus a portfolio of companies and newspapers. With £8 billion in assets, they ranked among the UK’s sixteen wealthiest individuals.

Born in Scotland in 1935, Frederick and David Barclay adopted the Latin motto of Scottish clans - Aut agere aut mori (“act or die”) - and engraved it above their castle door. Orphaned as children in a family of twelve, they began their business life in the 1960s by launching a brewery in Scotland.

Their breakthrough came in 1983 when they acquired the Ellerman group for £45 million. Just five years later, they sold a single division of the group for £240 million — retaining control of the rest.

Their lives were steeped in eccentricity: from childhood, they dressed identically and wore the same haircut. Their only distinguishing feature? The parting of their hair—one on the right, the other on the left. They were identical, yet complementary: one dynamic and optimistic, the other cautious and thoughtful. Today, however, the “two halves of a whole” find themselves entangled in a bitter family dispute—rooted in marriage and money.

In 1993, the twins purchased 38 hectares of Brecqhou Island—complete with a private port, helicopter pad, and a fortress impenetrable to outsiders. Their obsession with privacy was extreme: public photos of them are virtually non-existent, except for one from the year 2000, when Queen Elizabeth II awarded them baronetcies in recognition of £40 million in donations to charity.

Anyone attempting to set foot on Brecqhou without permission—like a BBC journalist who once arrived by helicopter—risked trespassing charges. On top of that, Brecqhou enjoyed full tax exemption. While many billionaires flee to tropical havens to escape taxes, the “knife brothers” essentially bought one in their own country.

Brecqhou was only one piece in the Barclays’ elaborate tax-saving architecture. Their business empire spanned an intricate web of entities based in tax havens.

For example: “Very,” an online fashion retailer in their portfolio, is owned by Shop Direct, an e-commerce conglomerate. Shop Direct is controlled by LW Holdings, based in Jersey (another tax haven). LW Holdings is controlled by LW Corporation, which owns Yodel (a delivery firm). At the top of the pyramid sits LW Group, domiciled in Tortola, British Virgin Islands.

Unsurprisingly, the Barclays appeared in the Panama Papers—the massive leak that exposed celebrities and tycoons allegedly involved in tax evasion.

The Ritz Hotel—an icon of British luxury—was the crown jewel of the Barclays' empire. It employed over 10,000 people. The brothers bought it for £75 million after selling off their brewery division.

Inspired by the arcades of Rue de Rivoli in Paris, the Ritz was designed by Charles Mewes and opened in 1906 by Swiss hotelier César Ritz. In its century-long life, it hosted countless historical events - including Margaret Thatcher’s passing in one of its suites in 2013.

But recently, family tensions tainted its legacy. Sir Frederick’s divorce from Hiroko—a Japanese heiress whose parents opened London’s first sushi restaurants in the 1960s—resulted in a massive settlement.

To cover these losses, Sir Frederick began selling family assets. After 25 years of ownership, the Ritz was listed for sale. It was eventually acquired by Qatar’s sovereign wealth fund (QIA) for £1 billion.

The sale wasn’t just about liquidity. According to financials, the Ritz generated only £48 million in revenue - well below competitors like Claridge’s, which made £66 million annually.

This wasn’t the Barclays' first retreat from hospitality. They once owned the Maybourne group, which included Claridge’s, the Connaught, and the Berkeley. That empire was also sold after a years-long feud with Irish investors led by U2’s Bono. Qatar eventually acquired those hotels too—and now, the Ritz.

Ironically, the deal closed on March 27, 2020—when the pandemic had forced the hotel to close. It’s likely Qatar got a discount. That probably didn’t sit well with Frederick.

In a twist worthy of a Le Carré novel, the Barclays’ final chapter became a spy story.

Frederick discovered he had been secretly recorded—inside his beloved Ritz, in the smoking room where he discussed confidential matters with his daughter Amanda.

Who would spy on the family? The answer: the family itself. His great-grandson Alistair, son of Aidan (David’s eldest), had planted the bugs. At just 30, Alistair was already a flashy entrepreneur. By 26, he’d launched an online real estate agency with family money, lived in Belgravia, and drove a £200,000 Bentley—until his licence was suspended.

Spied on by his great-grandson, and betrayed by his twin’s side of the family, Sir Frederick didn’t explode. Like a proper British gentleman, he sued them. His demand: don’t sell the Ritz for less than £1 billion.

David, his twin, seemed the villain—but maybe had his reasons. The hotel sale was brokered by real estate firm Jones Lang LaSalle and consultant Richard Faber—Amanda’s ex-husband. The scent of conflict of interest was unmistakable.

In the end, Frederick and David weren’t just identical twins. They were the Killer Twins.