Lady Bamford's lifestyle brand remains a labour of love

Towards the end of last year, Rats in a Sack reported how JCB chairman Anthony Bamford had dipped into his vast fortune to ride two diggers at once – handing £200,000 each to the Conservatives and Nigel Farage’s Reform UK, as well as giving another £50,000 to Tory leader Kemi Badenoch for the running of her office as leader of the opposition.

It’s all small change to Lord Bamford as his family’s net worth was put at £9.45 billion in the most recent Sunday Times Rich List. JCB recently returned a £687 million pre-tax profit on £5.8 billion in turnover, handing £866 million in dividend pay to Bamford Family Interests via parent firm JCB Group Holdings Sarl, incorporated in Switzerland.

Of course, backing two horses in a multi-horse race guarantees that at least some of your investment will go down the pan. But the Bamfords have form for that too, with Lady B’s lifestyle brand, Bamford Collection, looking like what is kindly termed a labour of love.

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The venture, which sells organic food, homewares, clothing and bath and beauty products, as well as providing leisure services such as spa treatments, has managed to rack up a whopping £105.9 million worth of trading losses so far according to newly filed accounts.

The most recent filing, made this week and covering the period up to March 2025, shows Carole Bamford’s company recording a £9 million loss for the year. After accounting for £37.4 million in share capital, the group reported a £68.5 million shareholders’ deficit, with the latest loss returned on £73.6 million in turnover.

Still, it has not dimmed her enthusiasm for her upmarket wares, which are largely distributed via Daylesford Organics. A ‘Going Concern’ note attached to the latest financial statement, filed at Companies House this week, said: “Lady Bamford has confirmed she will continue to provide support to the Group and Parent Company for the foreseeable future to enable it to continue its operational existence and to settle its liabilities as they fall due.”

Her husband hardly has a 100 per cent record of success in backing winners either, having squandered £3 million on donations on Boris Johnson before the wild-haired liar was forced out of Downing St in disgrace. Bamford then backed sensible Liz Truss to replace him.