Howard Leigh, Baron Leigh of Hurley
Conservative peer, party treasurer, corporate financier and Israel advocate
| Howard Leigh, Baron Leigh of Hurley | |
|---|---|
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| Born | April 1959 |
| Died | |
| Nationality | British |
| Residence | |
| Occupation | Corporate financier; Conservative peer |
| Known for | Senior Partner, Cavendish Corporate Finance; Senior Treasurer, Conservative Party; Conservative Friends of Israel |
| Parents | |
| Spouse(s) | |
| Children | |
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| Education | |
| Predecessor | |
| Website | |
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This article is part of the Revolving Door project of Spinwatch. |
Howard Darryl Leigh, Baron Leigh of Hurley (born April 1959) is a British corporate financier, Conservative life peer and long-serving party fundraiser. He co-founded Cavendish Corporate Finance in 1988 and remains its senior partner. He has been a treasurer of the Conservative Party since 2000 and senior treasurer since 2010.[1][2]
He was created a life peer on 16 September 2013 as Baron Leigh of Hurley, of Hurley in the Royal County of Berkshire, and sits on the Conservative benches in the House of Lords.[3][4] He speaks in the Lords on business, tax, trade, the Jewish community and Israel, and has chaired the Finance Bill select committee.[1]
Leigh is chairman of Jerusalem Foundation UK, president of Westminster Synagogue, president of the Institute for Jewish Policy Research, a vice-president of the Jewish Leadership Council, a member of the advisory board of Conservative Friends of Israel, and has sat on the board of BICOM. He chaired Jewish Care’s business breakfasts for 25 years.[1][5]
Background and education
Leigh was educated at Lyndhurst Preparatory (1967–1972), Clifton College, Bristol (1972–1976), and the University of Southampton, where he read economics from 1977 to 1980. He qualified as a chartered accountant with Deloitte Haskins & Sells and further qualified with the Chartered Institute of Taxation. In 1986 he established Deloitte’s mergers and acquisitions group before leaving in May 1988 with Hugo Haddon-Grant to found Cavendish Corporate Finance.[6][7]
He chaired the Faculty of Corporate Finance at the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales and in 2008 received its Outstanding Achievement in Corporate Finance award. He has served as an alternate to the ICAEW president on the Takeover Panel.[6]
Business
Cavendish Corporate Finance specialised in sell-side advice to owners of mid-market businesses and, according to the Jewish Leadership Council, has acted in more than 700 transactions. In December 2018 Cavendish merged with AIM-listed finnCap Group plc. After a further merger with Cenkos in September 2023 the listed vehicle became Cavendish Financial plc (now Cavendish plc). Leigh was a director of Cavendish plc from 28 November 2018 to 18 November 2020. He ceased to be a person with significant control of Cavendish Corporate Finance LLP on 5 December 2018, when Cavendish plc took that role.[1][8][9]
In September 2021 he became non-executive chairman of Manolete Partners plc, an insolvency litigation financier. Companies House records the directorship from 23 June 2021.[1][8] His parliamentary register records that a PA employed by Cavendish Corporate Finance supports his Lords work.[10]
The family property companies, including Dependable Investments Limited and managing agent Dennis Reed Limited, control freeholds and management in north-west London. In May 2022 The Times reported that a property tribunal had found commission of 67 per cent on buildings insurance at a Harrow development “excessive” and capped the charge. Leigh said the companies had “acted at all times within the terms and spirit of the appropriate laws and regulations, and indeed market practice.”[11]
Directorships
Companies House splits Leigh across more than one officer record. The Lords register and commercial compilations give the fuller working list of family property and finance vehicles. Current remunerated posts declared to Parliament are shown first.[10][8][12]
| Company | Number | Role | Appointed | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Manolete Partners plc | 07660874 | Director / chairman | 23 June 2021 | Active |
| Jerusalem Foundation Trustees Limited | 06174036 | Director | 20 March 2007 | Active |
| City and Suburban Investments Limited | — | Director | (declared) | Active (Lords register) |
| Craig & Company (Properties) Limited | — | Director | 7 March 2012 | Active |
| Dennis Reed Limited | — | Director and company secretary | (declared) | Active |
| Dependable Homes Limited | — | Director and company secretary | (declared) | Active |
| Dependable Investments Limited | — | Director and company secretary | (declared) | Active |
| Dependable Properties Limited | 00468240 | Director | (declared) | Active |
| Station Court (Wembley) Management Company Limited | — | Director | (declared) | Active |
| Cavendish Corporate Finance LLP | OC333044 | Senior partner; former designated member / PSC | Founded 1988; LLP member to 5 Dec 2018 | Continuing as senior partner |
| Cavendish plc | 11540126 | Director | 28 November 2018 | Resigned 18 November 2020 |
| AIM Academies Trust | 04389132 | Director | 5 December 2016 | Resigned 7 February 2024 |
| World Holocaust Forum Foundation | 13248204 | Director | 5 March 2021 | Resigned 6 April 2022 (dissolved) |
| The Institute for Jewish Policy Research | — | Director | 29 June 2015 | Resigned 30 June 2025 |
| Marlow Retail Limited | — | Director | 11 April 2014 | Resigned 8 February 2016 |
| Cavendish Corporate Investments Limited | — | Director | 31 March 2012 | Dissolved |
| Cavendish Capital Advisors LLP | — | Designated LLP member | 16 January 2006 | Dissolved |
| Stepney Jewish (B'nai B'rith) Clubs & Settlement Limited | — | Director | 15 September 2008 | Resigned 29 October 2012 |
| Leighstel 1 Ltd | 10053123 | Director | 9 March 2016 | Dissolved |
| Leighstel 2 Ltd | — | Director | 10 March 2016 | Dissolved |
| Denverdown Limited | 01679723 | Director | before 8 January 1992 | Resigned 4 February 2000 |
| Wilcroft Holdings Limited | 00809752 | Director | before 7 August 1989 | Resigned 2 June 1993 |
He also declares a wide portfolio of shareholdings, including Cavendish plc, Manolete Partners plc, family property companies and listed investment trusts, plus a share of rent from residential, office and commercial property, mainly in London.[10]
Conservative Party
Leigh has campaigned for the Conservatives since 1979. He became party treasurer in 2000 and senior treasurer in 2010, a tenure the Jewish Leadership Council still records. In 2026 The Times described him as “the longest-serving treasurer in the Conservative Party’s history.” He told the paper the party typically raises “roughly £20 million a year.”[1][13]
He chaired The Leader's Group, the Conservative donor club in which a contribution of £50,000 or more bought dinners and other access to David Cameron and senior figures.[14] The Guardian reported in 2011 that Tory insiders said he had helped bring in more than £2 million a year through fundraising events, and that Cavendish Corporate Finance had advised on the sale of Smythson, where Samantha Cameron was creative director.[15]
In the Adam Werritty / Liam Fox affair of 2011, the Conservative Party confirmed that Leigh “introduced donors to Liam Fox's office during the 2005 leadership campaign.” A source close to Leigh said he “was as shocked as anybody to find that donors' funds were being used to fund Adam Werritty's trips.” The Spectator reported that The Jewish Chronicle had first carried the story of Leigh soliciting funds from wealthy Jewish donors including Poju Zabludowicz, Mick Davis and Michael Lewis.[15][16]
He is president of the Queen's Park and Maida Vale Conservative Association. In 2024 he accompanied the Prime Minister on a trade mission to China.[17][1]
Israel advocacy and communal roles
The Downing Street working-peerage announcement of 1 August 2013 listed Leigh as “former Chairman and current President of Westminster Synagogue; former Trustee of Jewish Care and current Chairman of Jewish Care’s Business Group; Trustee of the Jerusalem Foundation in the UK.”[3]
He is a member of the advisory board of Conservative Friends of Israel. Jewish News has also recorded that he “sits on the board of BICOM” (Britain Israel Communications and Research Centre).[1][5]
In January 2016 he became chairman of Jerusalem Foundation UK, having been a trustee. Marcus Dysch wrote in The Jewish Chronicle that Leigh’s task was “encouraging high-level donors to supply much-needed funds to finance cultural, educational and welfare projects in Israel's capital city,” and that on one occasion he “secured a $10m donation from one individual to build a retirement home.” The same profile listed him as a Jewish Leadership Council vice-president and president of the Institute for Jewish Policy Research.[18]
He chaired Jewish Care’s Business Breakfasts from 2000, succeeding Lloyd Dorfman. Jewish News reported in December 2025 that after 25 years and some 80 breakfasts he was standing down, the series having raised more than £6 million. Speakers included David Cameron, George Osborne, Jeremy Hunt, Sajid Javid, Stuart Rose and Mark Carney. He handed the chair to Simon Lyons of Ardea Partners but said he would remain involved.[5]
See also
- Conservative Friends of Israel
- BICOM
- Jewish Leadership Council
- Jerusalem Foundation
- Cavendish Corporate Finance
- The Leader's Group
- Adam Werritty
External links
- Jewish Leadership Council profile
- Cavendish profile
- Register of interests
- Companies House appointments (Howard Darryl LEIGH)
- Queen's Park and Maida Vale Conservatives
Notes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 Jewish Leadership Council, Rt. Hon Lord Leigh of Hurley The Jewish Leadership Council, accessed 9 September 2026.
- ↑ Cavendish, Lord Leigh of Hurley Cavendish, accessed 9 September 2026.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Prime Minister's Office, Working peerages announced GOV.UK, 1 August 2013.
- ↑ UK Parliament, Parliamentary career for Lord Leigh of Hurley Parliament.uk, accessed 9 September 2026.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 Candice Krieger, 25 years of serving up business titans over breakfast Jewish News, 18 December 2025.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 Cavendish, Howard Leigh Cavendish Corporate Finance (archived 24 July 2014).
- ↑ The Independent, Me And My Partner: Howard Leigh and Hugo Haddon-Grant The Independent, 3 March 1999.
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 Companies House, Howard Darryl LEIGH personal appointments Companies House, accessed 9 September 2026.
- ↑ Companies House, CAVENDISH CORPORATE FINANCE LLP persons with significant control Companies House, accessed 9 September 2026.
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 10.2 UK Parliament, Register of Interests for Lord Leigh of Hurley Parliament.uk, accessed 9 September 2026.
- ↑ Andrew Ellson, Lord Leigh of Hurley accused of greed over ‘excessive’ leaseholder fees The Times, 23 May 2022.
- ↑ Check Company, HOWARD DARRYL LEIGH - LONDON Check Company, accessed 2026.
- ↑ The Times, Lord Leigh: Why I’m fighting the Treasury’s ‘killer’ tax changes The Times, 27 March 2026.
- ↑ Marcus Dysch, Mazel Toffs to three new peers The Jewish Chronicle, 8 August 2013.
- ↑ 15.0 15.1 Nicholas Watt, Robert Booth and Rajeev Syal, Revealed: the link between Liam Fox donors and Tory HQ The Guardian, 19 October 2011.
- ↑ The Spectator, How the Tories turned generous donors into sinister lobbyists The Spectator, 21 October 2011.
- ↑ Queen's Park and Maida Vale Conservatives, Howard Leigh, Baron Leigh of Hurley queensparkmaidavaleconservatives.uk, accessed 9 September 2026.
- ↑ Marcus Dysch, The peer raising millions for Jerusalem The Jewish Chronicle, 25 January 2016.