Anthony Bamford, known as Lord Bamford, has said he will step down as chairman of JCB and has named his younger son, George Bamford, as the firm's future leader. The move ends years of expectation that Joe Bamford would one day take the top job at the construction equipment maker.

Joe Bamford had asked his father to step aside, a request Anthony Bamford saw as a kind of coup attempt by his own son. Instead, the 80-year-old chairman has turned to George, his third and youngest child, who has already been appointed deputy chairman and has started spending more time at JCB to prepare for the role ahead.

The decision places the next chapter of one of Britain's most prominent family businesses in George Bamford's hands, even though the JCB Board of Directors has not yet formalized the succession plan. JCB was founded in October 1945 by Joseph Cyril Bamford and has grown into one of the world's largest construction equipment manufacturers, with 22 factories across four continents, more than 19,000 workers and annual turnover of 6.5 billion pounds.

The change also draws a sharper line through the family itself. Joe Bamford runs Ryze Power, a green energy company that has produced hydrogen-based clean fuel, while George Bamford has built a luxury watch business under the Bamford brand and now runs Bamford Watch Department. Lord Bamford has long said he wants JCB to remain a family-run business, and this succession move keeps that principle intact while shifting the likely future of the company to a son who has been brought in more directly for the job.

What remains unresolved is how quickly the board will turn that intention into a formal handover. For now, the message from the family is clear: the leadership of JCB is moving from one generation to the next, but not to the son many had expected.