The anti-obesity director who’s making fat profit ...from junk food!
Revealed: Member of SNP’s health quango is investor in £14bn fast-food giant Just Eat
IT is Scotland’s national health body, launched this year to improve and protect our health and wellbeing.
A priority for Public Health Scotland (PHS) is to make the nation’s diet and fitness better and reduce levels of obesity – yet one of its board members cashes in from the sale of junk food.
Colin McLean, a director of PHS, founded and runs SVM Asset Management, a financial firm that invests in Just Eat, the massively profitable online service which delivers chips, burgers, kebabs and deep-fried chicken to customers.
Last month, SVM published an update about its investments on its website, hailing Just Eat as a Covid success story and praising its potential for growth.
It said: ‘While the pandemic has brought a boost to home delivery, there is longterm growth potential from moving customers from phone to online orders, building on a broader acceptance of the delivery model.’
Just Eat’s sales have boomed during lockdown as families ordered takeaway food instead of going out to eat.
But all mentions of Just Eat were removed from the SVM website on
‘Colin ensures high standards of governance’
Friday after inquiries by this newspaper. Last night Tam Fry, chairman of the National Obesity Forum, said: ‘Public Health Scotland’s mission statement assures us that it’s all about protecting and improving the nation’s health.
‘I’m not at all sure, however, that the man in Sauchiehall Street would see it that way if told that a board member could profit from “growing” companies that exploited fast food.’
Just Eat’s profile and profits soared during lockdown, helped by deals to deliver food from McDonald’s and Greggs. The company’s value has rocketed to an astonishing £14.1 billion – more than Rolls-Royce or BT.
PHS was launched by the Scottish Government and the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities (Cosla) on April 1 this year to play a key part in the fight against obesity.
Two-thirds – 66 per cent – of adults in Scotland are overweight, with 29 per cent of adults and 13 per cent of children obese.
At the time of the launch, the Scottish Government and Cosla said: ‘Scotland needs to refocus its approach to protecting and improving the nation’s health.’
Mr McLean, the managing director of Edinburgh-based SVM Asset Management, was one of eight nonexecutive members appointed to the PHS board. He receives £8,584 a year for the role.
Announcing his appointment in April, the Scottish Government said Mr McLean ‘brings business, financial and change management experience to the board’, adding that as a qualified actuary and strategic thinker, ‘he can also contribute his knowledge of risk management, data science and demographics’.
However, alongside that public health role, Mr McLean comanages SVM’s UK Growth Fund.
SVM’s website carried a profile of Just Eat Takeaway under the heading ‘This month’s featured stock’, which described the merger of UK business Just Eat with a Dutch group, Takeaway.com. It said it was ‘now global’ and offered a ‘robust scalable platform’.
It added: ‘It operates on a capitallite business model, and has some pricing power with restaurants much less able to attract customers on their own.’
It said a further proposed acquisition would take it into the US and make it the world’s biggest food delivery company outside China. Last night, the Scottish Conservatives said: ‘The priority of everyone running Public Health Scotland should be to tackle the growing obesity problem in our country.
‘Obesity levels are unacceptable and swift action is required.’
PHS said: ‘Colin McLean plays a vital role in setting the strategic direction for PHS. Colin ensures high standards of governance throughout the organisation and brings business, financial and change management experience.’