HSBC has filed for bankruptcy protection against Aidan Barclay and Howard Barclay, marking a further escalation in the unraveling of the Barclay family business empire following the collapse of their logistics group.
Court documents show the bank made the applications to the High Court in December after recovering only around £1.1m of a £143.5m secured loan from Logistics Group’s administrators.
The company, which owned parcel delivery companies Yodel and ArrowXL, fell into insolvency in March 2024 after HSBC called in its debt and the group was unable to refinance or repay the loans it had taken out.
Administrators later confirmed that HSBC’s recovery was just 0.78 pence per pound, with any further returns dependent on an earn-out related to the sale of the remaining subsidiaries. “Future repayments to the secured creditor are uncertain,” Teneo administrators said in a filing to Companies House.
ArrowXL was sold to the Jacky Perrenot Group in June for an initial £2.2m, a fraction of the £57.5m the company had previously been valued by its directors. Yodel was sold in early 2024, just before the group filed for formal bankruptcy proceedings.
The bankruptcy proceedings add to a series of high-profile financial losses for the Barclay family. In recent years they have relinquished control of Telegraph Media Group and online retailer The Very Group as lenders sought to enforce security on unpaid debts.
Last month, International Media Investments, backed by Abu Dhabi, hired Interpath to sell real estate assets held through Trenport Property Holdings, another Barclay-linked vehicle, after the Telegraph’s sale fell through.
Aidan and Howard Barclay, the eldest sons of the late Sir David Barclay, were listed as directors of the Logistics Group at the time they took office. Last year’s corporate filings listed Aidan Barclay’s primary residence as Monaco.
The family’s difficulties deepened after lenders including Lloyds Banking Group enforced security on long-term debts in 2023. A planned £500m sale of the Telegraph to RedBird Capital collapsed last year due to regulatory hurdles, prolonging uncertainty over future ownership of the titles.
HSBC declined to comment on the bankruptcy filings. Aidan and Howard Barclay have been contacted for comment.
