Frederick Barclay, the reclusive tycoon who owes his former wife £100 million, is discussing a financial settlement with her after being threatened with bankruptcy.
The 88-year-old is yet to pay a penny of the divorce award, according to a lawyer for Hiroko Barclay, who told a London court on Monday her legal team was left with little choice but to prepare a bankruptcy petition against the “completely unrepentant” tycoon. The settlement offer to end the divorce fight was made on February 10, the same day as Frederick was set to meet his nephew Howard. The divorce suit and other recent court cases have pushed the famously secretive Barclay family’s troubles into the open with revelations of brawls on yachts and bugged hotel rooms in London’s Ritz Hotel. Frederick even pleaded poverty and asked for government money to help fund his legal woes. He skipped jail but was still found in contempt of court last year for failing to pay his former spouse thousands of pounds in legal fees.