Duncan Bannatyne
Duncan Bannatyne is the owner of the Bannatyne chain who own health clubs, spas and hotels.
Contents
Career
Bannatyne's first major career move was when he started nursing home business Quality Care Homes which he sold for £26 million in 1997 and nursery chain Just Learning (Conservative MP Michael Fallon is a former CEO) for 12 million.
In August 2006 Bannatyne's Health Clubs bought 26 health clubs from Hilton Hotels for £96 million. In 2008 he opened a £12,000,000.00 spa and in 2010 he bought Charlton House Hotel.[1]
He is also known for being on of the 'Dragons' on the BBC's business programme The Dragon's Den.
Politics
Support for a party
In 2014 Bannatyne declared he does 'not support any political party'. He said he 'backed the Conservative's when Mrs Thatcher was leader, and Labour under Tony Blair and Gordon Brown'. He also declared he is still close with Brown.[2]
Letter to the Telegraph
On 1 April 2015 Bannatyne was one of 103 business leaders who wrote to the Telegraph praising the British Conservative Party's economic policies and claiming a Labour government would 'threaten jobs and deter investment' in the UK.[3]
Criticism of Labour
In 2015 Bannatyne criticised Labour's plans to introduce a Mansion Tax on all homes above a certain threshold, claiming it should only be for foreign residents - using the example that that is what he does on his villa in France.[4]
Return to Labour
After declaring his support in the Conservative Party's economic policies and criticising the Labour Party's plans to introduce a Mansion Tax, on 7 April 2015 Bannatyne tweeted that he would be voting Labour because of Ed Miliband's 'courage' in pledging to scrap non-domiciled status.
Bannatyne's tweet read:
- 'Ed Milliband says he will abolish non-dom status in UK. This gets my vote I never thought any party would have courage to do this'.[5]
Political donations
| Date | Name of donor | Amount | Donated to | Subsidiary (parties only) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 27/06/2002 | Duncan Bannatyne | £10,000.00 | Labour Party | Central Party |
| 15/05/2003 | Duncan Bannatyne | £10,000.00 | Labour Party | Central Party |
| 26/05/2004 | Duncan Bannatyne | £10,000.00 | Labour Party | Central Party |
| 11/05/2010 | Bannatyne Fitness Limited, POWER HOUSE | £50,000.00 | Labour Party | Central Party |
Notes
- ↑ Bannatyne About Duncan, accessed 1 April 2015.
- ↑ Chris Blackhurst Duncan Bannatyne: A fire-breathing Dragon who never seems to come out of character Independent, 4 May 2014, accessed 1 April 2015.
- ↑ Peter Dominiczak, 100 business chiefs: Labour threatens Britain's recovery, Telegraph, 1 April 2015.
- ↑ Hannah Hope Dragon Duncan Bannatyne slams Labour's 'offensive' mansion tax proposals Daily Record, 25 March 2015, accessed 1 April 2015.
- ↑ Jon Stone Duncan Bannatyne says he'll vote Labour because of Ed Miliband's 'courage' in taking on non-dom tax status Independent, 8 April 2015, accessed 8 April 2015.
- ↑ Electoral Commission, Donation Search, accessed 1 April 2015
