The parent company, owned by the Dyson family, paid out £1.2 billion in dividends.

Dyson has paid Weybourne £4.3 billion over the past five years, according to Bloomberg. Photo: Christophe Archambault

Dyson paid a record £1.2 billion in dividends to its parent company as Sir James Dyson invested in agriculture and insurance.

Accounts registered in Singapore showed that Dyson increased its payments to Weybourne Holdings, owned by the Dyson family, from £1 billion in 2021 to £1.2 billion last year.

Sir James 5th on the list of Britain's richest people with a net worth of £23 billion according to the Sunday Times Rich List, has steadily increased cash payments from Dyson. to Weybourne in recent years. According to Bloomberg, Dyson has paid out £4.3 billion over the past five years.

Dyson was founded in the UK but opened its headquarters in Singapore in 2019. Sir James moved back to the UK in 2021. The Dyson family is the company's majority shareholder.

Dyson, best known for its vacuum cleaners and hair dryers, had sales of a record £6.5bn last year but pre-tax profits fell from £1.3bn up to £1.1 billion.

This was partly due to the closure of business in Russia, as well as increased investment in personnel and research and development. Earlier this year the company said the combination of higher shipping and logistics costs had cost it £120 million.

Dyson, founded by Sir James in 1991, has expanded its core vacuum cleaner business into purifiers air, lighting, and last year released a set of headphones with a front panel that purifies the air their owner breathes.

Earlier this year, the company first announced plans to build its own batteries at a plant in Singapore that will produce «next generation» cells, that is, lighter, more durable products.

It also announced a software center and £100m artificial intelligence project in Bristol

Sir James has invested heavily in farmland and equipment across the UK, saying earlier this year he spent £120m on equipment to help revive British agriculture with robotic fruit pickers. and sprayers with artificial intelligence. Weybourn also founded insurance company Alpinia.

Accounts provided by his farming business showed that his farming business had revenues of £35 million last year and profits of £3.9 million.

Sir James also invested. in the property business, he reportedly owns properties in the UK worth around £287 million.

Dyson declined to comment.