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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Business
Mark Sweney

Barclay family put superyacht up for sale for £19m

Sir Frederick Barclay at court in London.
Sir Frederick Barclay is said to have brawled with his late brother David on the yacht over the future of their empire. Photograph: Tayfun Salcı/ZUMA Press Wire/Shutterstock

The superyacht reportedly named after the billionaire Barclay brothers’ mother, the Lady Beatrice, has been put up for sale by the family with a €22m (£19m) price tag.

Sir Frederick and the late Sir David, whose family is in a battle to retain The Telegraph newspaper group that is to be auctioned later this month, took delivery of the 60-metre yacht in 1993 and it has remained in the family.

Three years later the brothers would complete the building of their gargantuan mock gothic castle on the island of Brecqhou, which they bought for about £3.5m.

Named in honour of their late mother, Beatrice Cecelia Taylor, the vessel was one of the largest luxury yachts of its time with its interiors described as being “the floating version of a French palace”.

Another yachting website describes the interior of the vessel, which costs around $3m a year to run with a crew of 17, as “a testament to opulence, offering a visually striking environment that exudes comfort and sophistication”.

The yacht is dotted with classic works of art, baroque furniture and has a 10-seater wooden dining table, a “lavish” swimming pool and “gold accents everywhere”.

“This investment represents the epitome of luxury and opulence and is one of the most attractive offers on the pre-loved yacht market,” one description concludes.

Like the low-profile Barclay family, the yacht remained off the radar until last year when Hiroko Barclay, the wife of Frederick, revealed details of life on board during her bitter divorce proceedings in court over an allegedly unpaid £100m settlement.

She revealed that the brothers brawled on the yacht over the future of the empire, which included London’s Ritz hotel that was sold three years ago for about £800m. The brothers acquired the landmark hotel in 1995 for £75m.

“They were punching each other,” Hiroko said of Frederick and David Barclay, who died two years ago.

The listing of the yacht is not part of the asset sell-off being run by Lloyds, which seized control of The Telegraph and Spectator magazine in June after failing to reach an agreement with the Barclay family over about £1bn in unpaid debts.

It is understood that the yacht is one of a number of assets in a trust set up by David Barclay for his family and part of his estate that is not yet settled.

A spokesperson for the Barclay family declined to comment.

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