JCB heir warns inheritance tax raid could force family business out of UK

Jo Bamford, heir to the JCB fortune, says move might be needed to preserve jobs

The heir to the billion-pound JCB fortune has warmed that the government’s inheritance tax clampdown on family businesses could drive his father’s vast commercial empire out of the country.

Jo Bamford, whose billionaire father Anthony owns the excavation equipment manufacturer, warned he may be compelled to relocate abroad in order to protect jobs across the family’s portfolio of companies and prevent businesses from being broken up and sold.

“The family tax… is a real problem,” he told City AM in an interview, adding: “It could quite easily become an American business. I love being in Britain. I love being here. I love our factories here. But I would say to a political party of any stripe, look, there’s only so much you can ultimately do.”

The government has pressed ahead with proposals to impose inheritance tax on family-owned enterprises for the first time in decades, as part of a sweeping crackdown on wealth. The measure, first unveiled at Labour’s inaugural Budget, has sparked a chorus of warnings from business owners that the death duty will compel long-established firms to be sold off or dismantled to meet their tax obligations.

Both farms and family-run businesses had previously enjoyed a longstanding exemption from the unpopular levy, allowing them to be handed down without restriction. However, they were drawn into its scope amid concerns the arrangement was being exploited as a loophole by the super-wealthy. Under the changes, which came into force last week, all shareholdings in a family business worth more than £2.5m will be subject to a reduced inheritance tax rate of 20 per cent, as reported by City AM.

Billionaire engineering mogul James Dyson and hotel magnate Sir Rocco Forte have both cautioned that unless the levy is reversed, their heirs will likely be forced to sell off portions of their businesses to meet the costs. Meanwhile, drinks tycoon Steve Perez, founder of VK-maker Global Brands, warned that his company has scrapped investment plans for a new plant and hotel in a bid to reduce his family’s exposure to the tax.

At BusinessLive, we reported this week that JW Lees brewery boss William Lees-Jones also feared the impact of inheritance tax on family firms, calling the recent change an “act of self harm” that will stop family firms growing and creating jobs.

Bamford, whose family owns boutique food and drinks retailer Daylesford, the eponymous luxury soap brand, and JCB, told City AM that he and his sister were born in the US in the 1970s following a government drive to nationalise its business.

The manufacturing heir, whose father donated millions to the Conservative Party and is now one of Nigel Farage’s most prominent corporate backers, said: “When you’re hunting down family businesses or farms or any those two things, it is quite contentious, but you want people to hold on to these things long term.

“You want us, as a family, to invest here in Britain. You know, we have businesses everywhere around the world. We have them in India and China and Brazil. I’m here because I’m British and I’m here and I employ people in Britain because I like British people, and I like being in my part of the community.”

Serial entrepreneur Bamford maintains a position on the JCB board but has carved out a career in the clean energy sector, establishing hydrogen fuel company Ryze Power and chairing the board of environmentally-friendly bus manufacturer Wrightbus.