The ex-wife of retired businessman Sir Frederick Barclay has been left in an “extraordinary” predicament after a long-running High Court fight over money, a judge has said.
Sir Jonathan Cohen said 88-year-old Sir Frederick, who had been one of Britain’s “most successful businessmen”, owed Lady Hiroko Barclay, who is also in her 80s, £100 million.
He said Lady Barclay had been left “hanging by a thread”, not knowing whether she could pay bills.
The judge said the Barclay family had “allowed this to transpire” and said it was unclear why Sir Frederick had not been able to call on the “range of business contacts” he “must have”.
Sir Jonathan aired his thoughts while overseeing the latest hearing in the proceeding in the Family Division of the High Court in London.
In May 2021, Sir Jonathan ordered Sir Frederick to hand Lady Barclay £100 million after the breakdown of their 34-year marriage.
The judge has heard that Sir Frederick has not paid.
“It is extraordinary that the former wife of one of the country’s most successful businessmen is in this predicament and that the Barclay family have allowed this to transpire”— Sir Jonathan Cohen
Lady Barclay last year argued that Sir Frederick was in contempt because he had breached court orders to pay her the £100 million.
She also argued that he had breached an order to pay her about £245,000 he owed for her legal fees and maintenance.
Sir Jonathan ruled that Sir Frederick was not in contempt as a result of handing over the £100 million – or a first instalment of £50 million.
He concluded that Lady Barclay had not proved that Sir Frederick had the means to pay either amount.
But the judge ruled that Sir Frederick was in contempt as a result of not paying the £245,000 he owed for legal fees and maintenance.
The judge concluded that Sir Frederick had the means to pay the £245,000.
Sir Frederick had subsequently paid the £245,000 and, on Thursday, Sir Jonathan decided not to impose any punishment for that contempt.
He said he had to take into account the fact that the £245,000 had been paid – and Sir Frederick’s age.
But he said Lady Barclay was still owed £100 million and raised concerns about her plight.
“She is left hanging by a thread, not knowing from one day to the next whether she will be able to meet her bills,” Sir Jonathan said.
It is unclear to me why Sir Frederick has not been able to call on the range of business contacts he must have— Sir Jonathan Cohen
“It is extraordinary that the former wife of one of the country’s most successful businessmen is in this predicament and that the Barclay family have allowed this to transpire.”
He added: “It is unclear to me why Sir Frederick has not been able to call on the range of business contacts he must have.”
Sir Frederick and his twin brother Sir David, who died aged 86 in January 2021, were among the UK’s most high-profile businessmen.
Their interests included Telegraph Media Group and The Ritz hotel in London, while the family also has links to the Channel Islands and Monaco.
The judge has heard that the twins had made financial arrangements several years ago which meant that Sir David’s sons Aidan and Howard Barclay now had day-to-day responsibility for “group business”.
Howard Barclay had told the judge, at an earlier hearing, that he and his brother Aidan had been “trying to help” Sir Frederick.
But he said that “at the moment” the business was “simply not in a position to do that”.
In June, news emerged that the Daily and Sunday Telegraph and The Spectator magazine were likely to be put up for sale after talks between their owners and lenders collapsed.
Sir Jonathan has been told repeatedly that a settlement – in relation to the £100 million payment – is pending.
The judge has been given a figure of around £10 million in relation to that settlement.
But he said on Thursday that he had been told how a lender providing settlement money had withdrawn.
He indicated that he had decided that “enough” was “enough”.
Lady Barclay had asked the judge to hand Sir Frederick a suspended prison term for not paying the bulk of that £10 million settlement figure.
But Sir Jonathan decided against such a move after concluding there was “no evidence” that Sir Frederick had access to “any material sum”.
The judge said he hoped an out-of-court settlement could still be reached.
