£60million JCB windfall

THE owner of JCB has been paid £60m after a record year at the digger maker. Lord Bamford was handed the dividend windfall as sales surged 28pc to £3.4bn, the highest in its 73-year history.

JCB has 22 factories around the world, including 11 in the UK, where it hired an extra 1,100 staff this year to meet booming demand.

The number of vehicles made by the Staffordshire firm rose 20pc last year driven by exports to markets from the Americas to the Middle East. Profits climbed 23pc to £203m.

JCB’s ultimate owner is a Dutch holding firm controlled by the Bamfords.