The Barclay brothers, who yesterday finalised the purchase of the Daily Telegraph group of newspapers from Hollinger International, control much of their ?1.65 billion empire through a Bermuda company.

However, it would appear that the ?660 million purchase of the Telegraph was made through a company controlled by a separate Jersey trust.

Famously protective of their privacy, Sir David and Sir Frederick Barclay live in a mock gothic castle on a small island in the Channel Islands that they rarely leave.

According to the Telegraph, their businesses are owned through a series of separate holding companies, which themselves are controlled by offshore companies and trusts in Bermuda, Jersey and the British Virgin Islands. Ellerman Investments, which owns the majority of the UK investments, including London's Ritz Hotel, is controlled by BI Limited, a company incorporated in Bermuda.

According to a profile in The Times, the two men gained control of Ellerman Lines, a shipping and brewery group, for ?48 million in 1983.

The company was struggling following the death of Lord Ellerman.

"While other predators eyed the company, the twins jumped in and persuaded Lady Ellerman to sell. "Over the next few years, having turned Ellerman round, the Barclays made more than ?250 million by selling off the group's assets one by one," the profile said.

The Telegraph said the family newspaper empire, which includes the Scotsman and the Business, is controlled through Press Holdings Ltd., a Jersey-based company. The purchase of the Daily Telegraph was made by Newspaper Press Acquisitions. It in turned is owned by Hollyrood Holdings Limited "which is controlled by Sir David and Sir Frederick Barclay", according to a Press statement from Hollinger yesterday.

Hollyrood Holdings also owns a group of newspapers in the UK including The Scotsman, Scotland on Sunday and The Business.

Meanwhile, in the British Virgin Islands the Barclay brothers hold a majority stake in Trigen, a UK-based biotechnology firm.

The Barclay family also has links to a series of unlimited private companies ? including Hillgate Estate Agents, St James's Estates and St James's Street Properties ? which, unlike limited companies or PLCs, do not have to file accounts at Companies House, The Telegraph said.

A businessman who knows the brothers told the Daily Telegraph earlier this year: "They like businesses that have well-established names, that may be out of fashion or distressed and which present an opportunity."