The JCB founder's sons litigated in three countries over the company, then a cousin's £30 million fee claim failed

Joseph Cyril Bamford founded JCB in 1945 and made his son Anthony chairman in 1975^†. He died on 1 March 2001. A dispute over his will followed and was settled in 2004; the court record does not name the parties. Trusts for Anthony and his younger brother Mark each held 50 per cent of the holding companies that owned all of JCB. From 2005 the brothers negotiated for Anthony's trusts to buy Mark's half, without a deal. Four sets of proceedings followed. In 2009 Mark sought a review of governance at the Dutch parent company in the Netherlands, and the trustees sought directions in Bermuda. In 2010 an English claim sought an account of loans to Anthony and family pay. In 2011 another sought to establish who truly owned JCB. On 14 June 2011 the brothers agreed to settle. Mark dropped the litigation in exchange for complete separation of his trust interests. A sale of JCB, code-named Project Crakemarsh, was planned for 2012 and never happened. Their second cousin Richard Bamford had advised Mark and was paid £2.6 million. His company, Contra Holdings, then sued for 2 per cent of Mark's half, about £30 million on its own £3 billion valuation. The High Court struck the claim out on 18 July 2022. The Court of Appeal dismissed the appeal on 5 April 2023. In 2026 JCB lists Lord Bamford as chairman; it marked its 80th year in 2025.