With a looming General Election, the Conservatives are fighting tooth and nail for every vote as the Labour party gains ground.
But who’s bankrolling the Tories? Take a look
Frank Hestor, millionaire businessman, amount: £15m
The boss of TPP, Frank Hester, is the biggest donor of the Conservative Party, donating a whopping £15m. Hester is also the Tories’ most controversial donor who came under fire for his comments in 2019 saying looking at Diane Abbott made you “want to hate all Black women” and that she “should be shot”.
Hester apologised for his remarks, saying his criticism “had nothing to do with her gender nor colour of skin”.
Sir Mohamed Mansour, ex-minister, amount: £5m
Egyptian-born British billionaire businessman Sir Mohamed Mansour is a former politician. The chairman of Mansour Group, a $6bn conglomerate, he is estimated to be worth $3.6bn. Mansour made a £5m donation to the Tories before the election.
Amit Lohia, Indian businessman, amount: £2m
Amit Lohia, a director at family-run yarn giant Indorama, gave his first donation to the Tories last year – a cool £2m. Known as the Prince of Polyester, the 48-year-old is part of one of India’s most high-profile business families that have interests in a Russian textiles plant and one of Asia’s largest petrochemical producers.
Bobby Arora, British billionaire and retail director of B&M, amount: £250,000
British billionaire Bobby Arora, who is a retail director of B&M, shelled out a quarter of a million pounds to the Conservatives last December. It is reported that Rishi Sunak took a £10k helicopter ride to visit the Altrincham home of supermarket tycoon.
It was Arora’s first political donation. His brother Simon has previously given £50,000 to the Tories.
Richard Harpin, the founder of repairs business Homeserve, amount: £2m
Homeserve founder Richard Harpin has forked out £2m since the last election campaign, records from the Electoral Commision show. Harpin, who is also the boss of review website Checkatrade, has been a long-time donor and has given the party nearly £3 million in cash and non-cash donations since 2008.
In March, the Conservative Party was fined more than £10,000 for under-reporting non-cash donations in the form of a member of staff seconded to the party by Harpin between April 2020 and December 2023.
Sir Peter Wood, founder of Direct Line, amount: £500,000
Sir Peter Wood, the founder of Direct Line, has donated half a million pounds to the Conservative Party, making him one of the biggest supporters of the party. Wood is one of Britain’s richest people. He climbed from the 216th place in 2023 to 210th this year on the Sunday Times Rich List. His wealth has gone up £2 million, making him worth £801m.
Graham Edwards, boss, Telereal Trillium, amount: £3.5m
Telereal Trillium, one of the UK’s largest property firms, has always been known to favour the Tories. Its boss Graham Edwards is the party’s treasurer and has contributed £3.5m since 2018, including a £2m donation last year.
Alan Howard, co-founder of Brevan Howard Asset Management, amount: £1m
Alan Howard, co-founder of Brevan Howard Asset Management, made a £1m donation in May 2023, having funded the party since 2018. Howard is one of Britain’s most famous hedge fund managers and is known to have set his sights on expanding in the Middle East.
