Barclay brothers settle £140m HSBC debt, avoid bankruptcy
Aidan and Howard Barclay reach IVA with bank over Logistics Group loans linked to Yodel courier service
En resumen
- Aidan and Howard Barclay, former owners of the Telegraph, have avoided bankruptcy after settling with HSBC over £143.5m in debts owed by their Logistics Group (linked to Yodel courier).
- The 70 and 66-year-old brothers agreed to an individual voluntary arrangement (IVA) at the High Court, with HSBC withdrawing proceedings.
- The family lost control of the Telegraph in 2023 to Axel Springer for £575m after £1.16bn debts to Lloyds.
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Por qué importa
The Barclay family owned the Telegraph since 2004 and accumulated £1.16bn in debts to Lloyds Bank, leading to sale of the titles to Axel Springer in 2024. The brothers also owned the Ritz Hotel and Very Group, both sold amid family feuds over assets.
The former owners of the Telegraph have avoided bankruptcy after reaching a settlement with HSBC over more than £140m in overdue debts. At a high court hearing on Tuesday, Europe's biggest bank said it had withdrawn proceedings against Aidan and Howard Barclay, whose family lost control of the Daily and Sunday Telegraph in 2023 over £1.16bn of unpaid debts owed to Lloyds Bank.
HSBC initiated legal proceedings against the brothers last year after the collapse of Logistics Group, which was linked to the Barclay-owned courier service Yodel. The bank was owed £143.5m by the business, with the brothers having provided personal guarantees to secure the loans. HSBC later clawed back £1.1m from the administration process, according to a report in the Telegraph.
The bank withdrew its legal action after the brothers, aged 70 and 66, agreed to a debt repayment plan, or individual voluntary arrangement (IVA). Details of the agreement were not disclosed. However, the court was told that the IVA will require the brothers to cover HSBC's legal costs.
If HSBC had won a bankruptcy order it would have allowed the bank and other creditors to take control of the Barclays' remaining assets and sell them off. The brothers would have faced a ban on holding company directorships for at least a year, or be legally required to disclose the bankruptcy to lenders when seeking to borrow more than £500m.
In October the Carlyle Group, a US private equity firm, took control of Very Group, the owner of Littlewoods and the online shopping site Very, bringing an end to two decades of ownership by the Barclays. The family also sold off the Ritz hotel in London for about £750m amid a feud over their assets.
After three years of uncertainty over the ownership of the Telegraph, which the Barclays acquired in 2004, the German media group Axel Springer paid £575m to buy the titles and took control this month. HSBC and the Barclay family declined to comment.
Preguntas abiertas
- What are the specific terms of the IVA?
- How much will the brothers pay toward the £143.5m debt?
- What assets remain in the Barclay family's possession?
