Daily Telegraph co-owner Sir David Barclay dies ‘suddenly after a short illness’ aged 86,
Billionaire Daily Telegraph media mogul and former Ritz Hotel co-owner Sir David Barclay dies ‘suddenly after a short illness’ aged 86, the newspaper announces
- Sir David built a business empire with his identical twin Sir Frederick Barclay
- The Barclay Brothers invested in hotels before expanding into shipping and retail
- In July 2004, they bought The Telegraph Media Group from Conrad Black
Sir David Barclay has died aged 86 after a short illness
Billionaire media mogul and co-owner of The Daily Telegraph Sir David Barclay has died aged 86 after a short illness.
Together with his identical twin Sir Frederick Barclay, Sir David built a business empire, making him one of Britain’s richest men with an estimated shared wealth of around £7billion.
His newspaper reported last night that he passed away on Sunday.
The brothers were knighted in 2000 in the first ‘double knighting’ ceremony in recent history.
The twins, commonly known as ‘The Barclay Brothers’, launched their business investing in hotels before expanding into shipping, retail and the media.
Born into a poor west London family, the brothers left school at 14, with Sir David working as a painter and decorator, running a newsagents and an estate agents.
It was only when they started redeveloping old boarding houses as small hotels they began making huge sums, building a huge hospitality business that included the Ritz until last year.
In July 2004, the Barclays bought The Telegraph Media Group from British businessman Conrad Black. Its stable of titles included The Daily Telegraph, The Sunday Telegraph, and The Spectator.
Together with his identical twin Sir Frederick Barclay (left), Sir David (right) launched a business empire making him one of Britain’s richest men with an estimated shared wealth of around £7billion
The Queen with David Barclay (centre) and Frederick Barclay (right) at the opening of the new headquarters of The Scotsman Publications Ltd in Edinburgh
The Barclays bought a joint home on the rocky outcrop of Brecqhou, off the Channel island of Sark. They had bought the island for £2.3million in 1993, building a fortress like neo-Gothic mansion, symbolising their preference for privacy
How the Barclay brothers started out in a corner shop before building billion pound media empire
Along with his identical twin Sir Frederick, Sir David built a vast business empire which began with hotels and expanded to include shipping, retailing, and, since 2004, ownership of the Telegraph Media Group.
The twins’ had a tough childhood as they were evacuated several times during The Second World War, witnessing first hand the bombing of Coventry.
Aged 14, the brothers left school leading David to often claim he had been educated in the ‘University of Life.’
He first worked in accounts at the General Electric Company, before taking on jobs as a decorator and running a corner shop. By 1961 the twins had launched an estate agents in Notting Hill, where they began buying and trading properties. Soon they started redeveloping dilapidated boarding houses as small hotels.
The Telegraph said the Barclay brothers had “operated as one” throughout their business career, while steadfastly avoiding personal publicity and media scrutiny.
They had turned to media ownership in 1992 by buying the weekly newspaper The European, which closed in 1998, while they had also owned The Scotsman from 1995-2005.
After first expressing interest in The Daily Telegraph to its Canadian owner Conrad Black in May, 2003, and while a private deal was overruled by a US court in November of that year, the Barclays eventually acquired the paper at auction seven months later for £665 million.
The paper quoted a colleague of the brothers as saying Sir David was distinct from Sir Frederick in that he was “more attuned to taking a risk, and Frederick was generally willing to have a look but would never bet the farm”.
The brothers had previously bought out other media outlets, first in 1992 when they acquired The European, a weekly newspaper which closed in 1998, followed by The Scotsman, which they purchased in 1995 before selling it a decade later.
They quickly emerged as major players in the media industry and brought former Sunday Times editor Andrew Neil into their fold to help guide their interests.
In 1997 they acquired The Sunday Business in 1997, relaunching it as a competitor to the weekend Financial Times.
But the brothers had long harboured interest in buying The Telegraph and in May 2003 approached its beleaguered owner Lord Black, who was battling shareholders.
Sir David faxed him from Monte Carlo simply saying: ‘I wish to register our interest should you contemplate any serious change in your UK interests’. Lord Black replied: ‘Conditions are quite manageable. No assets are for sale.’
But hushed negotiations for The Barclays’ takeover began months later as Lord Black’s predicament worsened.
After early legal complications blocked an initial agreement, the twins finally bought The Telegraph Media Group at auction in 2004, with a winning bid of £665million.
In recent years, the brothers increasingly delegated leadership of the media group and wider empire to Sir David’s sons Aidan and Howard.
Sir David in particular has been admired as an astute reader of political rhythms and was described by a friend as ‘able to read the economic tea-leaves like few people of his generation’.
But he resisted applying an pressure on his editors, who, although aware of the twins’ support for Margaret Thatcher’s small-state policies, were given free reign over the content of the paper.
Born David Rowat Barclay, he is 10 minutes older than his twin Frederick Hugh Barclay.
They were born into a large family in Hammersmith on October 27 1934.
Their first major hotel purchase was Hyde Park North and Hyde Park West. They acquired more than 15 hotels within a decade and in 1995 bought the Ritz for £75 million making a suite available to Margaret Thatcher for the last weeks of her life.
Last year the twins sold the Ritz to a brother-in-law of the ruler of Qatar. It led to an infamous row between the brothers over the hotel’s sale process and price, which ended in court proceedings.
In happier times, the Barclays bought a joint home on the rocky outcrop of Brecqhou, off the Channel island of Sark.
They had bought the island for £2.3million in 1993, building a fortress like neo-Gothic mansion, symbolising their preference for privacy.
Pope Benedict XVI made Sir David a papal knight. Later in life he became closer to the Catholic Church after first experimenting with several denominations, from Pentecostalism to Anglicanism.
He married much-photographed model Zoe Newton in 1955, when he was 20 and she was 19. They had three sons, Aidan, Howard and Duncan.
They divorced in the 1980s before he first remarried Reyna Oropeza, in 1989, with whom he had another son, Alistair. He had nine grandchildren.
Sir David’s first wife was Zoe Newton, the ‘Drink more milk’ model, pictured with their son Aidan
The Barclay brothers’ businesses are now run by Aidan and Howard Barclay (pictured)
The brothers had long hankered after the Daily Telegraph – finally buying the media group in 2004
