City bigshots who funded Tory victory
OCADO founder Tim Steiner, building industry veteran Steve Morgan and insurance tycoon Sir Peter Wood were among dozens of businessmen who bankrolled the Tory party’s successful General Election campaign.
The Conservatives were handed more than £15million in donations, according to Electoral Commission figures. The figure is likely to rise as more data is published.
Peter Hargreaves, the founder of financial services firm Hargreaves Lansdown, was among the City’s most generous donors, handing £1 million to Boris Johnson’s campaign. This was matched by Bridgemere UK, a property company chaired by former Redrow boss Steve Morgan.
Trailfinders, the travel company run by industry veteran Mike Gooley, gave £500,000. Sir Peter Wood, the insurance entrepreneur who chairs GoCompare owner GoCo Group, also donated £1 million.
Tim Steiner, one of the founders of food delivery firm Ocado, gave
£50,000 while Richard Harpin, the founder and boss of FTSE250-listed HomeServe, coughed up almost £10,000. Sir Malcolm Walker, the founder and executive chairman of Iceland, gave £25,000 while City broker Shore Capital – founded by executive chairman Howard Shore – also made a large donation.
The Tories enjoyed a landslide lead in donations ahead of its rivals. Labour has so far reported just over £5million with much of it coming from unions.
Julian Dunkerton, the anti-Brexit boss of retailer Superdry, made donations to the Liberal Democrats, the Green party and Plaid Cymru.
Jeremy Hosking, the pro-Leave fund management veteran, gave cash to the Brexit Party.